Announcement today. France loses tax case against WT. Sorry if already posted.
Case ruled in Org's Favor
by watson 9 Replies latest jw friends
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JunkYardDog
I can'T figure you how the wt wins these cases
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MrFreeze
Doesnt it seem like when the JWs win cases they say its because they have Jehovahs spirit and when they lose cases its because they have Jehovahs spirit and they are being persecuted.
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JunkYardDog
if that win was in an EU court and not in France. There is nothing to stop France from upholding thier ban.
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purplesofa
STRASBOURG, France––Today the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the
government of France violated the rights of Jehovah’s Witnesses when it
attempted to impose a retroactive 60% tax on all religious donations made
by Jehovah’s Witnesses in France between 1993 and 1996. -
Mad Sweeney
You're partially correct, JYD. The ECHR only has the authority that the member nation allows them to have. But if the French government lacks the balls to stand up and act independently, the court and the Borg will have won.
As for how the WT keeps winning these, to me it seems like the governments that go after them do so without any foresight or finesse at all. The only way to attack a religion in today's world is in order to protect people. It can't be about money or about subversion or anything else governments have tried recently. You have to make the case that the Borg violates individual human rights of members and recruits and you have to be able to sell that case. Anything else is just pissing into the wind.
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Band on the Run
I see a lot of limitations. The tax was retroactive. The suggestion is that a tax assessed on present taxable income might well be valid. Another thread posted an article that the court also found or the Witnesses asserted they could not continue their religion if the tax were upheld. Perhaps a retroactive tax not so sweeping would be all right.
No civil lawyers here?
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watson
France cans still appeal some upper court. Chamber of 17 or some such.
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Billy the Ex-Bethelite
Any links?
Of course the whole thing was 15 years old, that's like 3 different generations of "generation" ago in Watchtowerland, and a couple different administrations in France. This was important to nobody but the JWs. JW attorneys would have had to hugely screwed up to lose this case.
Wasn't this also originally around the time that WT did the switch that it was okay to do public service work in place of military service? That might have been a token move toward "mainstream" in the eyes of Europe?
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Band on the Run
I repeat my qs about why France and not Britain? Were only the Witnesses targetted or were all organizations receiving certain types of income also involved? Even in the US, govt. can impose some neutral requirements on religion. They have to file for tax-exempt status. All religions must obey neutral criminal or regulartory schemes of general applicability. Recently, the US Supreme Court held that Native Americans could be arrested for smoking pequote during religious observances. It was controversial Bigamy has been upheld against Mormons.