Revoke the Tax-Exempt Status of the Church of Scientology

The Church of Scientology was founded in the early 1950s, and quickly gained and lost its tax exempt status as a religion. The IRS ruled that the system of "fixed donations" and the services offered to the public constituted a for-profit venture, and was therefore taxable. This judgment stood the test of the courts, and was only overturned after the Church of Scientology filed more than 2,000 lawsuits against the IRS and individuals within the organization. Scientology leader David Miscavige met with IRS officials to negotiate their new tax deal, one that is clearly superior to those of all other religious organizations in the United States.

The tax-exempt status that Scientology enjoys has to do with their exemption for "religious education." This means that any Scientologist can deduct their expenses for Scientology courses, auditing, even all the L. Ron Hubbard books they buy. The Church of Scientology is the only church that enjoys that specific tax exemption status.

In 2004, a suit was filed on behalf of Michael and Marla Sklar, a Jewish couple who attempted to claim $15,000, which they claim was the cost associated with the religious component of their childrens education. The foundation of the case was the Church of Scientology's religious education tax-exemption, which served as precedent for the Sklar's deduction. Inevitably, the court's decision hinged on an investigation into the religious education exemption that allows each individual Scientologist to deduct very large sums of money spent on auditing and religious education. The Sklars lost the case and three judges of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the ruling, stating in essence that two wrongs don't make a right.

At the heart of this case was a discussion regarding Scientology's tax exemption in relation to the Constitution's Establishment Clause. This clause, which is part of the First Amendment to the US Constitution, states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion." One of the vital aspects to this clause's interpretation includes an explicit prohibition against the establishment of any law giving preference to one religion over another. In other words, if one specific church is going to receive a specific benefit (in this case, the religious education tax-exemption) then that same benefit must be freely given to all other faiths as well. If that can't be achieved, then no individual church should receive such preferential treatment, lest the law or governmental agency find itself in violation of the Constitution.

It is the belief of thousands of Americans that the Church of Scientology is a dangerous, for-profit organization. Thousands of accusations of abuse have been leveled against the church, both domestically and internationally, and the organization has been convicted of fraud and manslaughter in some countries. Such an organization does not deserve the same tax breaks as other religions, and it certainly does not deserve better ones.

NY Times: The Shadowy Story Behind Scientology's Tax-Exempt Status
http://www.lermanet.com/scientologynews/nytimes/nyt-irs-030997.htm

NY Times: Scientologists' Tax Break Cited in Suit Against IRS
http://tinyurl.com/bjja2v

AP: LA Couple Seeks Same Religious Tax Break as Scientologists
http://www.lermanet2.com/scientologynews/ap-tax-trial-110904.htm

San Francisco Chronicle: Court Case Poses Challenge to Scientology Tax Break
http://www.rickross.com/reference/scientology/scien501.html

LA Times: Couple Lose Bid for Tax Refund Tied to Tuition
http://www.lermanet.com/scientologynews/latimes/lat-jewishtax-013002.html

The Church of Scientology's tax-exempt status is unconstitutional and unjust and should be revoked, and the details of its secret deal with the IRS investigated and disclosed to the public.