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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.
In 1967 the Internal Revenue Service revoked the Church of Scientology's tax-exempt status because it failed to meet the criteria in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. [4] In 1993, the IRS granted Scientology a 501(c) nonprofit status, giving it the same favorable tax treatment as other nonprofit organizations.
From the time its tax exemption was removed by the IRS in 1967 to the reinstatement of the tax exemption in 1993, Scientologists filed approximately 2,500 lawsuits against the IRS. Over fifty lawsuits were still active against the IRS in 1993, although these were settled after the church negotiated a tax exemption with the government. [47] [48]
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]
The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a case about whether a charitable group linked with the Catholic Church can claim a religious exemption from Wisconsin’s unemployment tax system.
Rep. Sharice Davids called the bill a “critical step towards protecting marriage equality at all levels of our government” after it passed the House.
The law came after The Star revealed that Missouri had among the nation’s loosest marriage law for 15-year-olds. It previously allowed children even younger to marry with a judge’s approval .
On November 5, 2007, United States Senator Chuck Grassley announced an investigation into the tax-exempt status of six ministries under the leadership of Benny Hinn, Paula White, Eddie L. Long, Joyce Meyer, Creflo Dollar, and Kenneth Copeland by the United States Senate Committee on Finance.