Scientology form letter
This page is to be a form letter to your local Federal Member of Parlement regarding the tax free status of the Church of Scientology.
Contents |
Letter
Allign Right {Your Firstname and Lastname}
Allign Right {Your Street Address}
Allign Right {Your Town/Suburb}, {State and PC}
{Rep's Firstname and Lastname}
{Rep's Street Address}
{Rep's Town/Suburb}, {State and PC}
Dear {Name of Representative},
I am contacting you in regards to some serious concerns I have about the Church of Scientology (CoS) in Australia. My understanding is that the CoS enjoys a tax exempt status on the basis that it is a Religous organisation. The law defines a tax exempt religion as 1 - belief in a supernatural Being, Thing or Principle; and 2 - acceptance and observance of canon of conduct in order to give effect to that belief.
My main concern is that these qualifiers of a tax exempt status for religous oganisations are too broad and are easily taken advantage of. I understand that defining a religous organisation too finely can have an adverse effect, however, I would like to see ongoing oversight in the practices that exempt them from tax. My view is that the CoS has taken advantage of the broad definition of a religous organisation for the sole purpose of their own financial benefit.
In Chapter 20 of the Report of the Inquiry into the Definition of Charities and Related Organisations of 2001, the Committee's conclusions say: "Organisations that have as their dominant purpose the advancement of religion are for the public benefit because they aim to satisfy the spiritual needs of the community". My understanding is that the CoS requires donations before being able to read the teachings and advance past the initial meeting. The payments required for their spiritual guidence are in addition the that tax benifits the CoS receives from the community. The are not qualities that are to the benifit of the community.
Moreover, if the community provides the CoS with a tax exempt status, the CoS should be accountable to the community. All of the financial records of the CoS should be available for public scrutiny. It is near impossible to find reliable information on where the CoS Spends the tax exempt funds. The CoS appears to have large sums of money to wage legal battles against information that may show them in their true spirit. The court cases against the publication of Andrew Morton's book and the attempts to remove a Tom Cruise video from youtube.com are both against the spirit of free speech and appear extremely wasteful of funds when the CoS should be benefiting the community.
I would like to point your attention to the Anderson Report of 1965 by Kevin Victor Anderson, Q.C., which was the basis of the prohibition of the CoS in the states of Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia in the late 1960's. The enquiry was presented with documents revealing "a most alarming feature of scientology, namely, the tremendous power which the HASI is in a position to exercise over its preclears, for they contain the record of intimate disclosures made by thousands of preclears at a time when normal inhibitions and restraints were suspended and they were revealing their most secret hopes and fears, their shame and grief and guilt." These disclosures are carefully archived by the CoS and used for harrassment, blackmail and character assassination against members of the CoS that may want to leave the organisation and speak out against it according to personal accounts listed on www.xenu.net.
The Anderson report also says: "One of the great dangers of scientology is that it poisons the minds of its followers against the medical profession and generates an abhorrence of medical treatment generally, and psychiatric and psychological treatment in particular." and "Thinly disguised as something of quality and value, scientology has insidiously infiltrated the community. In reality it is a dangerous medical cult, with special though not exclusive interest in mental health, and it is concerned primarily to discredit orthodox medicine and psychology and in lieu thereof offer its deluded victims dangerous hypnotic and other techniques which falsely masquerade as scientific." These are qualities that definately do not benifit the community. The detriment to the community can be seen in the recent double murder in Revesby, NSW on the 5th of July, 2007, which was caused by the denial of psychiatric help by the teachings of the CoS.
The prohibition on the CoS was lifted only after a long and expensive legal battle, specifically the cases 1. Hubbard Association of Scientologists -v- Anderson (1971) VR 788; 2. Hubbard Association of Scientologists v. Anderson (1972) VR 340 [appeal of 1971 VR 740]; 3. Hubbard Association of Scientologists International v Anderson and Just (No 2) (1972) VR 577. Paulette Cooper outlines the arguments used to overturn the Anderson report in her book, The Scandal of Scientology. The reaction to the publication of this book by the CoS is most distrurbing. Operation Freakout was mounted by the CoS with the sole purpose of discrediting Paulette Cooper by any means possible, including many illegal mean. These are not qualities of a religous organisation that is for the public benifit.
In conclusion, I am seriously concerned about the honesty and ethics of the CoS and it's conduct here in Australia. I implore you to take action against the tax exempt status of this so called church. The CoS is raising tax exempt funds and using them for mysterious and unknown purposes. In addition, I implore you to seek more information and take action on the medical practices used and recommended by the CoS. Many countries in Europe are reviewing the status of the CoS and Germany has classified it as a business, even going as far as considering a ban. It is time for Australian law to recognise the CoS as a commercial enterprise, thinly disguised as a religion. L Ron Hubbard, the founder of the CoS, admitted himself in 1948: "You don't get rich writing science fiction. If you want to get rich, you start a religion."
I look forward to hearing from you on this issue.
Thank you,
{YOUR SIGNATURE}
{your Firstname and Lastname}
Ammunition
Please list any information ammunition and sources for this letter. I am looking for information on their tax status and how they got it (litigation), why the CoS was banned in 3 Australian States and then unbanned a few years later, what the requirements are for an organisation to be a tax exempt religion, etc etc. Please hit the government websites and list the info here. This information can then be collated into the actual letter.
Charities Definition Inquiry Final Report
How do I get my hands on this document?
Full text of The Scandal of Scientology by Paulette Cooper
How to write a letter to a politician
Your Representatives
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Federal Representatives
List of Federal Members by Electorate
PDF document with contact details of all Federal Members
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Western Australia State Representatives
South Australia State Representatives