Taxpayers Pay for Televangelists' Lavish Lifestyles

[cleanhippie]

Private jets. Million dollar vacation homes. Luxury cars. If the CEO of your favorite charity was enjoying these perks, you would probably be outraged and never donate to it again. Fortunately, the IRS requires most charities to file financial statements that show they are spending the public's money for charitable purposes, not private gain. This financial disclosure is the cornerstone of wise giving. Without it, the public would have no idea how charities are spending donor money.

Churches*, synagogues, and mosques, however, do not have to follow these same rules. They do not have to file annual reports with the IRS or state charity regulators, which allows them to avoid being rated by AIP. They do not even have to notify the IRS when they form. They receive the same tax benefits as other charities-including tax-exempt status and the ability to accept tax-deductible contributions-with none of the reporting obligations or oversight.

--snip--

With little oversight from their congregations and no oversight from the government, the situation is ripe for abuse. When stories of scandals and misuse of church donations reached the Senate Finance Committee in 2007, it launched a review of six media-based ministries, the results of which were released in January 2011. The review focused on six churches led by prominent televangelists: Kenneth Copeland of Eagle Mountain International Church/Kenneth Copeland Ministries (Copeland's church), Creflo and Taffi Dollar of World Changers Church International/Creflo Dollar Ministries (Dollars' church), Randy and Paula White of Without Walls International Church/Paula White Ministries (Whites' church), Bishop Eddie Long of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church/Bishop Eddie Long Ministries (Long's church), Joyce Meyer of Joyce Meyer Ministries (Meyer's church), and Benny Hinn of World Healing Center Church/Benny Hinn Ministries (Hinn's church).

http://www.charitywatch.org/articles/Televangelists_Lack_Oversight.html

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Ahh, the spoils of ignorance.

[rrneck]

1. There's your 1% in action. nt

[MindPilot]

2. There is also the parsonage exeption.

A percentage of a clegeryman's pay can be designated as a "housing allowance" which is non-taxable income. That is a tax advantage afforded no other wage-earner.

http://ffrf.org/legal/challenges/ffrf-v-geithner-parsonage-exemption/

The exemptions permit clergy to deduct from their taxable income housing allowances furnished as part of compensation. The unique benefits to clergy date to 1954, when Congress amended the tax code to permit all clergy to exempt their housing costs from their incomes taxes. U.S. Rep. Peter Mack, author of the amendment, declared:

Certainly, in these times when we are being threatened by a godless and antireligious world movement we should correct this discrimination against certain ministers of the gospel who are carrying on such a courageous fight against this foe. Certainly this is not too much to do for these people who are caring for our spiritual welfare.

Section 107(2) allows ministers to avoid paying taxes on income declared to be a “housing allowance.” The privilege also permits churches to save money on clergy salaries. Most egregiously, clergy may “double-dip,” i.e., deduct their mortgage payments and real estate taxes from income tax, even though they paid for these with tax-exempt dollars, amounting to a government subsidy solely for clergy.

In 2002, Congress acted to protect the exemption, after the IRS sued over an abusive housing allowance taken by Rev. Rick Warren, by limiting deductions in future to “reasonable rental value.”

[trotsky]

3. Ah, yes.

Some of our nation's greatest legislation and history came out of the Red Scare. Not.