The agreement violates the public's rights of inspection

By Jeff Jacobsen
(cultxpt@primenet.com)


Unfortunately I'm not a tax attorney so this is my reading of the following section of the secret IRS/Co$ agreement:

"1. The code section 6104 public inspection file for Church of
Scientology international shall include a form 1023 with information
and financial data for taxable years 1989, 1990 and 1991.  In
addition, the Code section 6104 public inspection file for CSI shall
include agreed upon portions of the Qualified Written Material.  These
documents and the resulting determination shall be the only materials
considered as the application, supporting papers and determination
information described in Code section 6104 (a)(1)(a) with respect to
Church of Scientology International."

I don't know what this 6104 is, but I'll conjecture.

Maggie [Council] and I went to the Exempt Organizations Reading room of the IRS in Washington DC after giving them 10 days notice that we wanted to see Scientology's 1023 forms. We got to see about 4 shelves full of documents, which are really worth seeing if you plan to be in DC. However, the lady working there said there are something like 3 *rooms full* of 1023 church forms (1023 forms are any documentation requested by the IRS and provided in order to get tax exempt status, minus any of a personal nature). I requested to see a certain document mentioned in what we could see, and I was told that I'd have to file a Freedom of Information Act request.

As I understand it, ALL 1023 forms are supposed to be available for public inspection, yet here was the IRS denying the right to see MOST of Scientology's 1023 forms.

Now, the above quote from the secret agreement tells me that the IRS purposefully designated most of the church's 1023 forms as being OUTSIDE the public's right to see, apparently just by agreement with the church, not based on any law or rule. And IMHO this goes AGAINST the IRS's rules!

So I hope that next time I go to DC I'll be able to see the 3 rooms full of 1023 forms. I certainly will work toward that end.

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Last updated 3 January 1998
by Chris Owen (chriso@lutefisk.demon.co.uk)