Scientology IRS petition sign

We Demand the IRS Commissioner Begin an Investigation into Scientology’s Tax Exempt Status

Jeffrey Augustine United States

IRS Commissioner John Koskinen has the legal authority to open an investigation into the Church of Scientology’s 501©3 tax exemption. We demand Scientology’s tax exemption be investigated for the following reasons:

1. Scientology’s lack of corporate governance as it represented to the IRS in its 1023 application for tax exemption. David Miscavige is the managing agent of Scientology and has pierced all corporate veils. To this point, in the IRS’ 1993 Closing Agreement with the Church of Scientology, the Final Draft of which was leaked by the Wall Street Journal in 1997, the IRS included this stipulation:

“H. Finality. This Agreement is final and conclusive except:

1. The matter is relates to may be reopened in the event of fraud, malfeasance, or misrepresentation of material fact;”

There are legitimate questions of fraud and misrepresentation of material fact by the Church in its 1991 1023 application for 501©3 tax exemption. Most notably, the Church represented that there was a system of corporate checks and balances in the Scientology when, as so many have alleged and shown, David Miscavige has collapsed these checks and balances and become the sole managing agent of Scientology and therefore pierced the corporate veils.

2. Scientology’s refusal to grant refunds or repayments to dissatisfied members as it represented to the IRS in its 1023 application for tax exemption.

3. Scientology use of tax-exempt dollars to engage in harassing former members, critics, and journalists. One example is the use of tax-exempt dollars to create slanderous hate websites and videos against  former members, critics, and journalists who speak out and expose Scientology’s inhumane practices.

4. Scientology’s internal cover-ups of child sexual abuse and rape as described by the victims of the sexual abuse and rape.

5. Scientology use of tax-exempt dollars to hire private investigators to spy on, stalk, and harass former members, critics, and journalists who speak out and expose Scientology’s inhumane practices. This is Scientology’s malicious policy of Fair Game and it is funded by tax-exempt dollars.

6. Scientology’s abuse of US religious worker visas to recruit non-US citizens to work in the Sea Org. Once in the US, these non-Americans have their passports confiscated and are forced to work 100 hour work weeks for wages far below the poverty level. Sometimes these workers receive no pay at all for weeks or months on end.

7. Scientology’s use of onerous contracts of adhesion to strip Scientologists of their legal and civil rights.

8. Scientology’s use of child labor.

9. Scientology’s predatory fundraising practices and use of commission salespeople to raise money.

10. Scientology’s use of a system of brutal and inhumane gulags known as the RPF (Rehabilitation Project Force). The RPF is a thought reform camp used to crush dissent. People in the RPF are often imprisoned for years and are stripped of their civil and legal rights.

11. The forced breaking up of families by Scientology’s inhumane practice of Disconnection.

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