Is the WT a 501[c][3] incorporated non profit

by barry 6 Replies latest jw friends

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  barry

  The reason I ask is because from what I have heard the SDA church is of this statis. Because of the 5013c in the SDAs there are certain laws which will effect the church now and into the future such as

  No discrimination for homosexuality and any court case would be lost in favour of a homosexual if they felt they were being discriminated against. There is allready a large group of homosexual and transgender in the church from the 1970s that are members of SDA kinship.

  Another area of discrimination is womens ordination which is in conflict with the General conference the highest body even though other conferences have women ministers.

  If cases are an lost it puts in jepardy the churches 501c3 statis and the church could be asked to pay taxes and back taxes from the time it was incorporated.

  Im not sure if the information I have is correct as it is second hand or hearsay others here may throw some light on th esituation of the WT society and its statis
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  blondie

  Can you show where this is stated legally under the laws of the US, in the IRS code, that the US government can dictate to religious nonprofits what their religious teachings must be? I think this is still in process...i.e., the Catholic Church and the Affordable Care Act.

  http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/12/religious-nonprofits-ask-supreme-court-to-block-contraception-mandate/

  http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/01/02/six-questions-about-the-contraception-mandate-and-the-supreme-court/
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  barry

  Gday Blondie, I thought you Americans would be up to date on these matters more than I am. I got the information from an Independant SDA minister and I know many of them are more than a bit crazy and live and sleep conspiracy theorys. Barry
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  blondie

  I'm as up-to-date as the laws are so far in the US. As the links point out, it is a work in progress.
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  ABibleStudent

  Hi barry, The WTBTS is a 501(c)(3) non-profit because it claims to be a religion. I do not believe that the U.S. IRS has revoked any religious organization's non-profit status for sexual discrimination, but it has for racial discrimination, which was uphed by the U.S. Supreme Court in BOB JONES UNIVERSITY, GOLDSBORO CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS, INC. v. UNITED STATES. 461 U.S. 574 (1983).

  Use the following link to determine whether the IRS considers an organization as a non-profit organization or has revoked its non-profit status: http://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/. I would start her to verify claims that the IRS has revoked an organization's non-profit status.

  The WTBTS has the following two entities in the State of NY with the names containing Watchtower and Watch Tower that are considered as non-profit organizations:

  11-1857820	Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania	Brooklyn	NY
  11-1753577	Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York Inc.	Brooklyn	NY

  Here is a link to the 501 section of the US tax code: 26 U.S. Code § 501.

  There are very few reasons for revoking an organization's non-profit staus if it claims that it is a religion. Currently the IRS is able to revoke a religious organization's non-profit status for funding terrorism and for net earnings inuring to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual (e.g., remember the Unification Church), which are in the Tax Code, and for racial discrimination, which was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.

  Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

  Robert
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  Chaserious

  Yes, they are a 501(c)(3), and no, they do not have to give equal status to homosexuals or women under American law. To slightly clarify the point made by ABibleStudent, there is not even precedent for revoking a church's tax exempt status for racial discrimination. In the Bob Jones University case, they revoked a religoius university's tax exempt status, and the Supreme Court expressly made clear that its decision to uphold the IRS action was due to the compelling government interest in eradicating racism from the education system, and that the holding would not apply to churches or purely religious institutions. To this day, there are some churches in the US who enjoy tax-free status although they refuse to conduct inter-racial marriages and things of that nature. The bottom line is that organizations designated as religious in the US are more or less free from government inquiry into discriminatory practices that would be illegal anywhere else.
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  jgnat

  In addition a religious charity is not required to publish its accounts in the US. It is in Canada.