Press

Press in the News

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January 6, 1998 Sellout to Scientology For 25 years, the Internal Revenue Service held all of the cards against the Church of Scientology. The IRS steadfastly refused to give Scientology a much-coveted tax exemption, and the courts consistently sided with the agency. Then the IRS abruptly folded in 1993, granting the tax exemption while refusing to disclose the details of the agreement. Amid such secrecy, taxpayers could only wonder what Scientology offered to persuade the IRS to abandon more than two decades of policy. IRS, Press
January 6, 1998 St. Petersburg Times: Sellout To Scientology For 25 years, the IRS steadfastly refused to give Scientology a much-coveted tax exemption, and the courts consistently sided with the agency. Then the IRS abruptly folded in 1993, granting the tax exemption while refusing to disclose the details of the agreement. Amid such secrecy, taxpayers could only wonder what Scientology offered to persuade the IRS to abandon more than two decades of policy. Press
January 2, 1998 IRS Signals It Will Probe Disclosure of Church Pact The Internal Revenue Service signaled that it will investigate the disclosure of a closing agreement that gave the Church of Scientology tax-exempt status and settled numerous lawsuits. The agreement between the church and the IRS had remained secret for about four years, until The Wall Street Journal published an article detailing the agreement's terms this week and posted the document on its Internet Web site. Under the pact, the church agreed to pay the IRS $12.5 million, set up a special tax-compliance committee and drop thousands of lawsuits filed against the IRS in exchange for tax-exempt status and the discharge of tax liens, levies, penalties and ongoing audits. IRS, Press
January 1, 1998 New York Times: I.R.S Eyes Probe After Disclosure of Confidential Scientology Pact The Internal Revenue Service indicated it would open an investigation into the disclosure of the confidential closing agreement that granted tax-exempt status to the Church of Scientology. Press
January 1, 1998 Tax Agency Hints At Inquiry on Leak On Scientologists The Internal Revenue Service indicated yesterday that it would open an investigation into the disclosure of the confidential closing agreement that granted tax-exempt status to the Church of Scientology. Details of the agreement had been kept secret under taxpayer privacy law since it was reached between the tax agency and the church in 1993. Under the agreement, the church paid $12.5 million to the tax agency, created an internal monitoring committee to insure compliance with tax laws and agreed to drop more than 2,000 lawsuits against the tax agency and present and former tax officials. Clearwater, finances, lawsuits, Press
December 31, 1997 $12.5 Million Deal With I.R.S. Lifted Cloud Over Scientologists The Church of Scientology paid $12.5 million to the Federal Government in 1993 as part of a settlement with the Internal Revenue Service that granted tax-exempt status to the church and ended a long and bitter battle with the agency. The payment was part of a landmark agreement, whose details had been kept secret until yesterday, that saved the church tens of millions of dollars in taxes and provided Scientology with an invaluable public relations tool in its worldwide campaign for acceptance. IRS, Press
December 31, 1997 New York Times: Scientology Paid Government $12.5 Million Under Terms of Agreement The Church of Scientology paid $12.5 million to the federal government in 1993 as part of a settlement with the Internal Revenue Service that granted tax-exempt status to the church and ended a long and bitter battle with the agency. Press
December 30, 1997 Associated Press: Scientologists Settled With IRS The Church of Scientology has denied that its leader and another official had an unscheduled meeting in October 1991 with Fred T. Goldberg Jr., then the commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service. Press
December 30, 1997 Scientologists and IRS Settled for $12.5 Million The 1993 agreement was nearly unprecedented and brought an end to an extraordinary battle. Starting in 1967, the IRS had argued that the main Scientology church should lose its tax-exempt status because it was a for-profit business that enriched church officials. The church's response was an all-out attack: filing suits against the IRS, feeding negative stories about the agency to news organizations, and supporting IRS whistle-blowers. The church's $12.5 million payment was intended to cover the church's payroll, income and estate-tax bills for an undisclosed number of years prior to 1993. It is unclear how much money the IRS originally sought. IRS, Press
December 30, 1997 Wall Street Journal: Scientologists and IRS settled for $12.5 million The Church of Scientology paid the federal government $12.5 million as part of a broad 1993 settlement with the Internal Revenue Service under which the church's main branch secured its tax-exempt status. Press

Press in the News

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May 12, 2006 Polish Scientologists Ordered to Remove Tents When Scientology erected tents in Warsaw's city center to attract new members, city officials ordered them taken down. Press
September 30, 1996 Patrice Vic Trial Begins - Scientology Executive Charged with Manslaughter Trial begins in the death of Patrice Vic. Scientology executive Jean-Jacques Mazier is charged with manslaughter, and 22 other Scientologists also face charges. crimes, deaths, France, Patrice Vic, Press