Re: The People Vs. Scientology (& the IRS) via the Sklar case

Re: The People Vs. Scientology (& the IRS) via the Sklar case Scientology

lamoore0777@sbcglobal.net wrote:

> cultxpt wrote:

>> http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1101136522270
>>
>> Scientology Settlement Puts IRS in a Kosher Pickle
>> Marty Graham
>> The National Law Journal
>> 11-29-2004

One of the major problems with the 1993 Closing Agreement between the kult and the IRS is that the IRS had already obtained Surpreme Court adjudication that $cientology auditing was not a tax-deductible expense in the 1989 "Hernandez" decision. The IRS was entirely within its rights to demand that kultists, at least, pay up.

http://lisatrust.bogie.nl/scientology/essays/jeff-irs.htm has a timeline of the IRS vs. Kult activities. "In June [1989] the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the Hernandez case that Scientology auditing fees were not tax deductible."

So, what happened? (*) would have us believe that he, and he alone effecting his OT Powerz, consumated a deal in favor of the kult for a payment of some twelve million dollars that made the kult a 501(3)(c) non-profit organization.

IMO, it makes more sense that the kult and the IRS had in years prior to 1993 entered into some kind of contractual "arrangement" that in effect had the kult paying down its historic and current tax liabilities over time, and in 1993, the twelve million dollars was the final payment that resulted in the "Closing Agreement" with stipulations that had been contracted years before, possibly as early as the early 1980s when DM and his cronies took over, but certainly in 1986 when the final organizational structure was finalized. "Hernandez" was the crack into the kult, but essentially a prior contract superceeded the Supreme Court decision.

As a consequence, the kult in 1993 found itself dereft of liquid assets and its failing membership has resulted today in its near insolvency.

See www.veritas.com for a somewhat disingenuous discussion of what the author(s) consider a takeover of the kult by the IRS that has the essential elements, but deliberately misses the simple point that it was all about payment back taxes and nothing more.

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