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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]
Scientology cites its tax exemption as proof the United States government accepts it as a religion. [160] In January 2009, removal of the tax exemption was rated as number 9 in items for the incoming Barack Obama administration to investigate, as determined in an internet poll run by the presidential transition team soliciting public input for ...
Scientology's designation as a tax-exempt religion has given it protections during FBI investigations and in court cases. In 2009, the FBI investigated Scientology on claims of human-trafficking ...
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.
In a response to questions by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) with regards to its application for tax exempt status, the Church of Scientology International provided to the IRS a list of Scientology corporations and entities, categorized by their functions and activities. [2]
In the 2017 HBO documentary Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, one former member recalls a “prison camp” where followers were allegedly forced to do hard labor for 30 hours at ...
The Founding Church of Scientology of Washington, D.C., had obtained tax-exempt status in 1956 on the claim that it was "a corporation organized and operated exclusively for religious purposes, no part of the earnings of which inures to any individual".