Posts by sacolton

$79 million tax demand on jehovahs witnesses threatens freedom of religionstrasbourgon september 21, 2010, the european court of human rights (echr) ruled unanimously that the complaint filed by jehovahs witnesses in france is admissible regarding alleged interference with their freedom of religion.. the government of france had imposed a retroactive 60-percent tax on all religious offerings donated to association les temoins de jehovah(also referred to as the christian association of jehovahs witnesses of france) over a period of four years from 1993 to 1996. the government initially demanded a total payment of about 45 million euros.

the amount demanded is now more than 57 million euros (more than $79,000,000 usd), which far exceeds the assets of the association.the echr took note of the fact that throughout the court proceedings within france, jehovahs witnesses had consistently maintained that the contested tax was a direct attack on their religious freedom.

in fact, it had been imposed on them within the context of the france governments fight against so-called sects.

sacolton

$79 million tax demand on Jehovah’s Witnesses threatens freedom of religion

STRASBOURG—On September 21, 2010, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled unanimously that the complaint filed by Jehovah’s Witnesses in France is admissible regarding alleged interference with their freedom of religion.

The government of France had imposed a retroactive 60-percent tax on all religious offerings donated to Association Les Témoins de Jéhovah (also referred to as the Christian Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses of France) over a period of four years from 1993 to 1996. The government initially demanded a total payment of about 45 million euros. The amount demanded is now more than 57 million euros (more than $79,000,000 USD), which far exceeds the assets of the association.

The ECHR took note of the fact that throughout the court proceedings within France, Jehovah’s Witnesses had consistently maintained that the contested tax was a direct attack on their religious freedom. In fact, it had been imposed on them within the context of the France government’s ‘fight’ against so-called ‘sects.’ Jehovah’s Witnesses contend that since the retroactive 60-percent tax applied to all donations received over a period of four years such a tax was impossible to pay since the donations had already been used for the ongoing operating expenses of the association. Thus, as argued by Jehovah’s Witnesses, the 60-percent retroactive tax was simply a fiscal weapon used with the purpose of closing down the headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses in France simply because they appeared on the government’s “black list.”

The Court must now proceed to examine the merits of the case to determine whether or not the taxation scheme of the French government interfered with the religious freedom of Jehovah’s Witnesses in France.

A copy of the Court’s press release on the September 21, 2010, admissibility decision can be found on its web site athttp://www.echr.coe.int/echr/Homepage_EN.

Contacts:
France: Jean-Claude Pons, tel. +33 2 32 25 55 55
USA: Philip Brumley, Office of General Counsel, tel. +1 845 306 0711
USA: J.R. Brown, tel. +1 718 560 5600

Last updated 07 October 2010 12:50:13 GMT

18

Shocking WT Quotes

by brotherdan in

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sacolton

"...the man Jesus is dead, forever dead..." (The Atonement Between God and Man, Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 5, 1899, p. 454)

40

Things You'll Never Hear a JW Say ...

by sacolton in

jw
friends

check out the responses:.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/watchtower-uncensored/261720187231?v=wall&story_fbid=160326977320577.

if you already have a fb account ... join our channel!.

sacolton

Check out the responses:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/WATCHTOWER-UNCENSORED/261720187231?v=wall&story_fbid=160326977320577

If you already have a FB account ... join our channel!

44

Hi!! New Here and need to express some feelings

by Knb1983 in

i'm so glad i happened to stumble across this website cause i really need to express what i've been holding inside for quite some time.

i'm 27 and was born and raised in the "truth".

i'm married and my husband was also raised as a jw, been married for almost 7 years and have two kids who have just started kindergarten and preschool.

sacolton

Thanks for sharing your experience! Welcome aboard!

67

When will the crashing and burning of this organization begin?

by easyreader1970 in

jw
friends

as i see it, there are three looming threats that all have the potential - individually or combined - to bring the wbts to its knees, at least in the united states, anyway.. 1. youth retention.

the young people aren't buying it.

the watchtower will argue that faithless young people are giving in to demonic persuasion and leaving the truth.

sacolton

Once they sell their assets and their money source dries up (already happening) ... the WATCHTOWER will collapse.

30

He's coming ...

by sacolton in

jw
friends

.

sacolton

Most JWs I knew drank all day.

30

He's coming ...

by sacolton in

jw
friends

.

sacolton

I remember the first time I encountered the importance of the CO visit ... I was a new recruit and late for the field service. As I pulled into the parking lot, everyone was just getting into their cars to go out in service. I jump into one of the vans and it just happen to have the CO ... he gave me such a dirty look and said, "You're late!" and I just said, "Better late than never." and smiled. He wasn't very happy with me.