Who actually owns the buildings and land? Is it the local congregation or the Watchtower society?
Pardon my ignorance....but what's the scoop with kingdom hall ownership?
by outsmartthesystem 13 Replies latest watchtower scandals
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cedars
As far as I know, your elders own it - unless you've recently had a rebuild or refurb, in which case the Society probably owns it now.
That's my over-simplified take on things....
Cedars
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LostGeneration
Talking out of my ass here Cedars, but I thought all KHs were owned locally. Of course when Mother comes along in the form of a CO or DO who wants a refurb or a move (menlo park) then the locals do as told in 99.9% of the cases.
Wouldn't it make sense to have them owned locally? (Less assets on the books in case of a mega-lawsuit)
Hopefully an active or recently active elder can clarify?
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cedars
Nobody's talking out of their asses, because it must vary from country to country. We can only speculate...
I'm not sure that the Society having less saleable assets is in their financial interests given their decline. If anything, they have more financial leverage to fight lawsuits if they have saleable assets against which to secure loans.
I'm pretty sure they're grabbing ownership rights to property under the veil of refurbs/rebuilds wherever they can. At least, that's what appears to have happened at Menlo Park.
Cedars
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blondie
In the US, the WTS is considered a parent non-profit corporation.
The congregation that holds the territory the KH is built on is the subsidiary non-profit corporation. Actually that congregation does not own the KH and property; 3 elders from that congregation act as trustees but do not own it. The WTS takes over only when they dissolve that non-profit corporation and then acts as the trustee but does not own it.
http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/191711/1/Who-owns-the-Kingdom-Halls
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redvip2000
Depends, Some halls are owned locally, others are owned by the society. Depends on who paid for it. As it was said here already, even those halls that are owned locally, are usually moved under the Org's name, in exchange of a loan for a "forced" renovation. It's basically another way to make money for the Org. Curiously, even on the halls that are owned by the society, the insurance for the property is paid by the local Congo to the organization, which provides an insurance policy for it's own property paid by the local brothers. Watchtower Organization - Publisher, Bank, Insurance Broker, Disaster Rebuilding Contractor.... and Faithful and discreet slave, of course.
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blondie
In the US though, (most US elders know about this)
The congregation that holds the territory the KH is built on is the subsidiary non-profit corporation. Actually that congregation does not own the KH and property; 3 elders from that congregation act as trustees but do not own it. The WTS takes over only when they dissolve that non-profit corporation and then acts as the trustee but does not own it.
http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/191711/1/Who-owns-the-Kingdom-Halls
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InterestedOne
Just for reference, here is another thread about it:
http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/203018/1/Who-Owns-Kingdom-Halls-Land
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outsmartthesystem
Blondie - If the bricks and mortar aren't owned by the 3 elders acting as trustees......nor are the bricks and mortar owned by the congregation.....and the WTS takes over only when the subsidiary non profit corp (congregation) is dissolved........then who owns the bricks and mortar right now?
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Band on the Run
Yes, who is the beneficiary of the trust? The local congregation, etc. Too lazy to read threads but interested.