Today, a German radio station commented on the court case won by JW in Germany. They now have to recognized as a public body which has mainly impact on taxes.
But the radio station also commented that now JW have access to the regitry entries of each citizen at the registry office. In Germany, all citizens have to register and to re-register when they move. Radio said this would be of help to them for finding people without a church membership.
JW in Germany that have moved to fade are now afraid that the Watchtower can now find them by checking their registration.
If you understand German, this is the radio report. The report is only about the new rights of JW, not about the fear of Ex-JW:
http://ondemand-mp3.dradio.de/file/dradio/2005/03/30/dlf_0942.mp3
Now German WTS has access to Registry Office
by GermanXJW 10 Replies latest jw friends
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GermanXJW
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Mary
In Germany, all citizens have to register and to re-register when they move. Radio said this would be of help to them for finding people without a church membership.
Good lord, don't German citizens have any Rights to Privacy???
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GermanXJW
Yes, we have. So, only organization registered as a public body have access. But now, JW have gained this status, too.
They were denied the status and have been going to the courts for more than ten years.
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vitty
In Britain any one can go to the library and find out where anyone lives. I know cos I did it, with a sister looking for anyone with a foreign name so we could call on them, and those who where constant not at homes we could look up the adress and find out the name then ring them up, or write them a "personel" letter. Its the same kind of thing as a registry, you must complete a form every year to vote
I feel quite shocked now that I actually did this.
So, really no one can hide in Britain!!!
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Pole
Does that mean 1% of the Witnesses income tax will go straight to the WTS?
If so, I think sooner or later it may backfire on them. Declaring yourself as a JW for tax purposes may be a test of loyalty many faders may refuse to pass :)
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DevonMcBride
In the United States all real estate transactions are public records. All someone has to do is stop by their local courthouse and they can find out where the homeowners live. In some counties, these records are on the internet.
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GermanXJW
Is does not only mean that the you see where someone live but also where he has moved to. And no, it this point of time it does NOT mean that JW have to pay a tax to the WTS and they say that do not intend to.
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Aaac
Something in English about this case: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1530197,00.html http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20050325-121132-8950r.htm
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GermanXJW
Thanks, I have made your links clickable:
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1530197,00.html
http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20050325-121132-8950r.htm
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lazyslob
Does this mean that wts is now part of the world? I mean rights to collect taxes aso.