Televangelists have a choice when they deal with the IRS. Some, like Pat Robertson and Billy Graham, register as religious organizations. Theyre exempt from most taxes but still must file disclosure reports showing how they make and spend their money. Daystar and dozens of others call themselves churches, which enjoy the greatest protection and privacy of all nonprofit organizations in America. Churches avoid not only taxes, but any requirement to disclose their finances. And, as NPR has learned, for the past five years churches have avoided virtually any scrutiny whatsoever from the federal governments tax authority. Today, television evangelists are larger, more numerous, more complex, richer, with bigger audiences than ever before and yet they are the least transparent of all nonprofits. The top three religious broadcasters — Christian Broadcast Network, Trinity Broadcasting Network and Daystar Television — are worth more than a quarter of a billion dollars combined, according to available records. npr.org/2014/04/01/282496855/can-a-television-network-be-a-church-the-irs-says-yes
Posted on: Mon, 07 Apr 2014 16:16:01 +0000
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