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The tax status of the Church of Scientology in the United States has been the subject of decades of controversy and litigation. Although the Church of Scientology was initially partially exempted by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from paying federal income tax, its two principal entities in the United States lost this exemption in 1957 and 1968.
After being recognized as a tax-exempt religious organization in 1957, Scientology's tax-exempt status was lost in a 1967 IRS audit. [5] As part of the effort to regain tax exemption during the late 1970s, Scientologists repeatedly infiltrated the IRS, copying large numbers of documents and at one point placing an electronic bugging device in an IRS conference room. [5]
One goal of the Church of Scientology is to be recognized as a religion or a tax-free charity, which has met resistance from several governments, with Scientology taking to the courts with varying results. For example, Scientology's path to legal recognition as a religion in New Zealand took 48 years and several lawsuits. [8]
While some governments now give the Church of Scientology protections and tax relief, [139] [140] other sources describe the organization as a pseudoreligion or a cult. [141] Early official reports in countries such as the United Kingdom (1971), South Africa (1972), Australia (1965) and New Zealand (1969) have yielded unfavorable observations ...
On October 15, 1981, [1] Moon was indicted by a federal grand jury and charged with three counts of willfully filing false federal income tax returns (for the years 1973, 1974, and 1975) under 26 U.S.C. § 7206, and one count of conspiracy—under 18 U.S.C. § 371—to file false income tax returns, to obstruct justice, to make false statements to government officials, and to make false ...
Beili Wang (被立王; bèi lì wáng), founded by Wu Yangming (a former member of the Shouters), defined by the Ministry of Public Security as a cult organization in 1995. Unification Church (统一教; tǒngyī jiào), known as "The Moonies" in the US, founded by Korean-American Sun Myung Moon in Busan in 1954, defined by the ministry as a ...
The Potter's House was a member of the Foursquare church until 1983 when they separated to form a new independent fellowship. The church has also been criticised in a number of areas including high levels of control, extreme commitment requirements, and the mistreatment of former members. It has been labelled by many ex-members as a cult. [1 ...
The Church of Scientology's interest is to be recognized as a religion as well as a charitable organization. Max Halupka observes "While a tax-exempt status is not a legal declaration of religious authenticity, the significance afforded the status by the public serves to color its true purpose.