by Aussie Oz 10 Replies latest jw friends
Since when did the WBTS or any congregations etc become registered charities? Just read the pdf on the 'charity' form the thread on Mill hill disfellowshipping an d didn't want to hijack it with this question.
What in the name of god is going on here?????????????????????
Can somebody explain the why? the how? and what charity are they said to be performing?
please!
Oz
The WTBTS of Great Britain , or whatever its correct nomenclature, has been a registered charity for many years, in turn individual congregations were told to register as charities .
The advantage of this in the U.K is that all donations of money upon which any kind of tax has been paid ,i.e Income tax , are then recognised as non-taxable by the Government, and tax at the appropriate rate is re-claimable by the Soc. or Congo. So a 40% tax payer is really an advantage to a Congo, but there aren't that many of them, too many window washers, who officially don't earn much.(Its a cash business)
The other advantage is that funds going from one charity to another, Congo to Soc. etc. are not perused by the Tax Man, but come under the purview of the Charities Commission.
As to what "charitable" works they do , they will claim "Bible educational " work, plus teaching someone to read etc.
When I was first starting to fade, a guy on here, or one of the other sites, was trying to get the Charities Commission to investigate the whole scam, but it does not seem as if he had any success. The Devil (WT) is quite adept at appearing to be an angel of light.
Love
Wobble
well slap me thrice and hand me to my mamma...
A freakin' tax dodge.
They have no conscience do they?
How though did they sell this to the congregations? i mean, surely they didn't tell them about the tax benifits to the WBTS?
Oz
I`ve come across the Charity commision report on a local KH, thought you might be interested.
XXXXXXX - XXXXXXX, XXXXXXXX CONGREGATION OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES DUE DOCUMENTS RECEIVED Activities ! ! Where it operates ! ! Annual Update for 31 Mar 2009:
received 01 Jan 2010 This screen uses the Adobe Flash Player to display charts of this data. If you cannot see these charts you can get the Adobe Flash Player by clicking the logo on the right.
Financial history ! Compliance history ! Financial summary !
| Financial year end (FYE) | Income | Spending | Accounts received | Annual Return/Annual Update received |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 Mar 2009 | £8,051 | £10,382 | Not Required | 01 Jan 2010 ** |
| 31 Mar 2008 | £8,859 | £9,747 | Not Required | 21 Dec 2008 ** |
| 31 Mar 2007 | £9,379 | £20,866 | 30 Jan 2009 (365 days late) | 04 Nov 2007 |
| 31 Mar 2006 | £10,413 | £5,906 | 29 Dec 2006 | 29 Dec 2006 |
| 31 Mar 2005 | £10,825 | £6,230 | 13 Jan 2006 | 13 Jan 2006 |
** Annual Update received - charity below Annual Return £10,000 threshold for this financial year
Paul Uk
Unfortunately it doesn`t seeem that the Javascript parts of that report are postable, this is what they claim to do -
ARRANGING MEETINGS FOR PUBLIC WORSHIP, WHICH INCLUDES BIBLE EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN CHRISTIAN LIVING. PREACHING THE CHRISTIAN MESSAGE TO THE PUBLIC WITHIN THE CONGREGATION AREA. DISTRIBUTING BIBLES AND OTHER RELIGIOUS LITERATURE; ALSO GIVING PASTORAL ASSISTANCE TO THE CONGREGATION AND THE WIDER COMMUNITY. ALL OF THESE SERVICES AND FACILITIES ARE PROVIDED WITHOUT CHARGE.
Paul UK
How though did they sell this to the congregations?
Individual members of Congregations, I find, are not very bright. Upon asking one who their Kingdom Hall belongs to, I got the response, 'we all own it'. 'So you can legally sell YOUR share of it?'. Confused look.
Congregation members believe they are doing 'undercover' charity work that no one hears about (they don't like to boast you know...not letting left hand know what right foot is doing etc). I'd like to bet that not one of them is aware of their 'aims' as registered with the Charities Commission.
This arrangement is common for most European countries - with France as the most notable exeption.
Our congregation was always open and honest about the tax benefits and used it in part to encourage people to give via gift aid rather than just put money in the box anonymously. After all whenever there are disasters the WTBTS is there saying donate to worldwide work and we will make sure it gets to where it is needed. We also have articles about homes being rebuilt at NO CHARGE (forget to mention insurance cheques) and experiences at assemblies that paint the society in a charitable light. R&F want to believe the organisation is good and deserving of charitable status so see all these as positive evidence of good works.
What is sad is that there are really no good works organised by the WTBTS, good things happen when individuals are moved to act.
This is why I chose to give to charities who are open and honest about what they do. Any other charity I can go on their web site and see pictures of people out on the ground rendering aid and support. Has anyone seen any pictures from the WTBTS of their organisation doing anything, anything at all.
As to ownership of Kingdom Halls, here in the U.K all Congos. were told to cede ownership to a Trust that the WT of Britain runs, so if a hall/site is sold the money goes to that Trust.
So the Congos do not own their Halls that they sweated to build and pay for.
the whole thing needs a good hard look to see if it doesn't look like a scam, which it surely is.
Could all this be another nail in the coffin if we can expose wrongdoing ?
Love
Wobble
Wobble - some years ago, a very wealthy single brother died and left his entire estate (property etc) to our local Kingdom Hall, which he had attended. Members reckon they don't now have to scrimp if they need new curtains - they can just go out and purchase them without worry!! (what a blessing, lol). I find it hard to believe the local congregation to which the money was left actually has it or has benefitted in any way (nothing significant has been done to this KH since his death)
IF money is left this way, it would then become theirs, and they have a right to dispose of it as they seem fit. Is there any stipulation (from the Society) that in such cases they have to turn it over to the WTBTS?
