Press

Press in the News

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November 7, 1993 Ex-Scientologists Question IRS Ruling The recent federal government decision giving the Church of Scientology tax-exempt status has the group exulting that its 40-year struggle for official respectability has at last been won. But several former members interviewed since the decision last month say they are perplexed by the decision, and that the government should not have accorded the church its new status. former members, IRS, Press, United States
October 29, 1993 Scientology Building Could Face Costly Delay The Church of Scientology's planned $24-million Super Power building could be delayed by six to 18 months if state planners decide it requires a special review aimed at large regional developments. Such a review, called a Development of Regional Impact study, would culminate in a vote by the Clearwater City Commission, which has battled Scientology in court over the years. It also could cost Scientology tens of thousands of dollars, planners said. The Super Power project has been delayed several times since it first was announced in March 1991. Clearwater, Press
October 28, 1993 Scientology Has $297-Million Growth Plan Hoping to expand to "every city on earth," the Church of Scientology plans to spend $185-million during the next five years to renovate and acquire properties, plus another $112-million on a campaign to spread its message around the world. Clearwater, Press
October 28, 1993 Clearwater To See Changes Since coming to Clearwater in 1975, the Church of Scientology has grown into a dominating presence in the city and now owns 11 properties in the area. Clearwater, known as Flag Land Base in Scientology jargon, is considered the international spiritual headquarters of the religion. The church has 750 or so staff members based in Clearwater, and hundreds more come from around the world to take part in Scientology religious services. Clearwater, Press
October 21, 1993 Scientology Sells... And Profits -- IRS Files Shed Light On Church's Finances It pays to pitch Scientology, according to earnings reports the church has filed with the Internal Revenue Service. One man averaged almost $200,000 a year in commissions from the fees of new members he had solicited to become Scientologists. The church gives its proselytizers 10 to 15 percent of what newcomers "donate" for church services. IRS, Press, Scientology and Society
October 21, 1993 New York Times: Scientologists Report Assets of $400 Million The Church of Scientology, the secretive and combative international organization that recently won a decades-long drive for Federal tax exemption, counts assets of about $400 million and appears to take in nearly $300 million a year from counseling lees, book sales, investments and other sources, according to documents filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Press
October 21, 1993 Clearwater to Keep Battling Scientology The city is still fighting the Church of Scientology. Despite a strongly worded recent court decision in favor of Scientology, city commissioners have decided to continue the decade-long legal battle over a rule that would let the city police the organization's financial records. Commissioner Fred Thomas said he was annoyed by the scores of letters sent by Scientologists to lobby him before the Tuesday meeting. He called one letter "threatening" and said it amounted to a "declaration of war" against the city. IRS, Press, Scientology and Society
October 20, 1993 Advertising: Church of Scientology to Launch Campaign to Improve Its Image The Church of Scientology, having just won tax-exempt status after a bitter, decades-long battle with the Internal Revenue Service, is now ready to take on media critics in a major promotional campaign to try to mend its public image. The church has responded aggressively to its portrayal by news organizations in the past. After Time ran its cover story titled "Scientology: The Cult of Greed," the church ran expensive inserts in USA Today, in an attempt to discredit the Time story. Press, Scientology and Society
October 17, 1993 The Church and the Magazines Premiere magazine ran an 8,700-word piece examining the growing influence of Scientology in the entertainment industry. The piece zeroed in on the activities at the church's Celebrity Centre, outlining some of the members who've come and gone, others who've stayed - and why. The article also goes into Scientology's history of threatening to sue people and businesses it views as adversaries. There are positive statements from believers too, though they figure less frequently. Celebrities, Press, Scientology and Society
October 15, 1993 Scientology's 'Charity' Forget, for a moment, the corporate spying, the illicit attempts to discredit its opponents. Forget the seized Church of Scientology documents that revealed a plan "to fully investigate the Clearwater city and county area so we can distinguish our friends from our enemies and handle as needed." Forget the "church" members who bugged U.S. Internal Revenue Service offices and stole files from government agencies. Consider merely the practical effect of the IRS' decision to grant tax-exempt status to 153 Church of Scientology churches, missions and corporations: The IRS now has granted charity status to a collection of corporations that deliver a service priced at $800 an hour; it has asked other taxpayers to, in effect, subsidize the work of a worldwide corporate empire whose method of counseling was developed by a former science fiction writer, L. Ron Hubbard. 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