Where does the money go?

by ozziepost 8 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  ozziepost

  Here is a serious question, asked seriously, where does all the CASH that the Watch Tower receives, end up?

  We take it for granted that much of their income is used to run the various headquarters and branch office buildings, including the materials used in printing their publications. Travel costs would account for a sizable amount of expenditure.

  Are we to assume that the balance is used in the construction of new branch and headquarters buildings?

  Is some left over? What happens to it?

  This is not intended to be a trick question. I have a fair idea of the answers but it'd interesting to gain insight from observers around the world. What do local dubs in your area believe happens to all the cash?

  Some background information:

  The New York corporation produces bound books for many countries apart from the US. Although the consignments are 'costed' and charged by invoices to the branches, they are not 'settled' in the way that a business corporation does. Take the Australia Branch, for example, instead of remitting funds back to the States in payment, it will provide regular Treasury statements of its cash levels. Brooklyn will instruct the Branch to make a remittance to another branch, say, India for construction of a new branch building, or whatever is decided by Brooklyn. This serves to avoid 'unnecessary' foreign exchange costs in double-handling i.e. there's little point in Oz paying Brooklyn which then pays India. You see what I mean?

  Why is this important? Well, the Society claims charity status but their distribution of literature has been a very sensitive issue. With so much cash moving around the world, how is the 'real' financial status determined? Looking at the Society's financial returns shows millions of dollars being forwarded to the US in payment of 'intercompany loans'. What were these loans? Was it really loans or was it remittances for literature? Yet insiders know that the literature is never 'paid for' as mentioned above.

  Any knowledge of this?

  Cheers,
  Ozzie

  "If our hopes for peace are placed in the hands of imperfect people, they are bound to evaporate."

  
  - Ron Hutchcraft Surviving the Storms of Stress
• 

  Francois

  No knowledge. But I sure do join you in wanting to know. I wonder if Ray Franz knows anything about this? Things are really compartmentalized at Borg Hdq. One must have a need to know to get any information. I wondered to him once about access to the WT mailing list. He just laughed at that one. Apparently, their mailing list is as closely guarded as the King's daughter's viginity with only two or three people having access at any given time.

  I wonder if, as part of the tax laws of this country, the WT can be forced to provide a tape of their mailing list? Now that would be a valuable item for anyone wanting to contact all the good dubs.

  Francois
• 

  out4good3

  If I'm not mistaken in some country's their tax exempt status requires them disclose some financial records. Would this be limited to just the branch offices outside of the US or the WT as a whole?

  I vauguely remember someone posting the financial records of a branch in Canada on a board long ago. Can some extrapolation be made using this information as to how much money is actually flowing through the WT coffers?
• 

  ozziepost

  Thanks, out4good3 for the suggestion. The difficulty with that would be that extrapolation may be very unreliable. Even if we knew the exact figs for Canada, this doesn't mean that all other branches can be determined in the same fashion. It also wouldn't tell us how much was in surplus if the experience I quoted was any indication i.e. they simply show all funds as being in settlement of intercompany loans.

  Cheers,
  Ozzie

  "If our hopes for peace are placed in the hands of imperfect people, they are bound to evaporate."

  
  - Ron Hutchcraft Surviving the Storms of Stress
• 

  proplog2

  Ozzie:

  Since you no longer claim to be a JW and can immerse yourself in this world - why don't you concern yourself with where TAX money goes. Religion accounts for only 3% of the GNP at most. If you give money to JW's then you ought to be concerned. You don't. So quit your bitching.
• 

  ThatSucks

  :: Since you no longer claim to be a JW and can immerse yourself in this world

  That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Every JW alive wakes up in this world, eats in this world, farts, breaths, walks, talks and reads in this world (amongst many other things). They are a part of this 'world' whether they want to be or not. (So much for figures of speech, eh?)

  Besides, in the USA, we know where all of the money goes now that the democrats no longer control the majority... It's in big business' pocket.
• 

  eyeslice

  As the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain is a registered charity, by law they have to publish details of their finances.

  The latest figures (for year 2000?) are as follows;

  Total Income: 24.4 million GBP
  Admin costs as % of Total Expenditure: 3.39%
  Admin costs as % of Total Income: 2.16%
  Total Funds 22.6 million GBP
  Total Investments 28.8 million GBP

  Presumably the admin costs cover the running of the (just over .5 million GBP) is for running the Bethel etc. The rest presumably goes to covering the costs of magazines and literature, etc. What happens to the excess, if any I wouldn’t know. Either way, an income of 2 million GBP per month is a pretty big sum by anyone’s reckoning.

  This data is from: http://www.caritasdata.co.uk (select the option ‘Search the National Charities Database’ and the enter 1077961 in the Charity Registration Number)
• 

  singsongboi

  my understanding of the money situation in oz, is the same as ozzieP, NY directs the moving of money around the world on a 'as needed' basis..

  i don't see anything sinister in this.

  in oz, i was once fairly good friends (in same cong. for a long time - with wallace baxter (dead now) who was treasurer for many years... he was the epitome of discretion, but told me that a very high standard applied to the society's accounts.

  and i don't see much evidence of money getting siphoned off for a personal benefit.

  I do see some 'special treatment' of people as they rise up the ladder, but not really any different to other religions.

  what is interesting is the paranoi which surrounds the money --- as evident in propolog's comment.

  in todays' world, they would be much more sensible to just print everything on a transparent basis...

  when you hide things -- then everyone immediately gets suspicious!!!
• 

  ozziepost

  Proplog,

  How charming!

  The matter of where the money goes does affect even 'worldly' people, for an organisation having charity status enjoys exemption from taxes i.e. my taxes. I stated that I was asking a serious question, you may recall. As a dub, I always defended the WTS at the doors as a non-profit organisation. Now that we enjoy the communication of a board for all things JW, it seems fair to ask, where does the money go? Are there cash reserves? Or is it all eaten up by continual building programs?

  Eyeslice: Thanks for posting the figs. Do you know if the WTS of Britain is audited as a charitable institution? Presumably an audit is conducted by a trusted long-serving elder who is also a qualified accountant.

  Cheers,
  Ozzie

  "If our hopes for peace are placed in the hands of imperfect people, they are bound to evaporate."

  
  - Ron Hutchcraft Surviving the Storms of Stress