Check on charity status of religious groups

[MarrickG]

I REFER to the letters about commercial investments by mega churches and last Saturday's letter, 'Drawing the line on commercial deals', by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports; Urban Redevelopment Authority; and Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore.

As an auditor of several charitable groups, I wonder if significant involvement in commercial activities by mega churches, through investments in properties, still qualify the churches as charities under the Charities Act and their Constitutions.

According to the Charities Act, the purposes/objects of the charities must be exclusively charitable, which, in the case of religious groups, is the promotion of their respective religions.

The authorities, including the Registrar of Societies and Commissioner of Charities, should look into statutory compliance and evaluate if such religious groups still qualify as charities.

New Creation Church and City Harvest Church are registered as charities but not Institutions of a Public Character. This means that donations to these churches are not tax exempt, so donors do not enjoy tax deductions of 2.5 times.

Nevertheless, I am impressed by the ability of these churches to obtain significant donation income, which is a feat few organisations can match.

Tan Saw Bin (Ms)

http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_505746.html

 

[Mdm Tang]

I REFER to the letters about commercial investments by mega churches and last Saturday's letter, 'Drawing the line on commercial deals', by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports; Urban Redevelopment Authority; and Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore.

As an auditor of several charitable groups, I wonder if significant involvement in commercial activities by mega churches, through investments in properties, still qualify the churches as charities under the Charities Act and their Constitutions.

According to the Charities Act, the purposes/objects of the charities must be exclusively charitable, which, in the case of religious groups, is the promotion of their respective religions.

The authorities, including the Registrar of Societies and Commissioner of Charities, should look into statutory compliance and evaluate if such religious groups still qualify as charities.

New Creation Church and City Harvest Church are registered as charities but not Institutions of a Public Character. This means that donations to these churches are not tax exempt, so donors do not enjoy tax deductions of 2.5 times.

Nevertheless, I am impressed by the ability of these churches to obtain significant donation income, which is a feat few organisations can match.

Tan Saw Bin (Ms)
http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_505746.html

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osho_(Bhagwan_Shree_Rajneesh)


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Nevertheless, I am impressed by the ability of these churches to obtain significant donation income, which is a feat few organisations can match. ....


There are in fact many many organisation in the world that can match...


one of them is Osho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh) ,


check it out the founders has a fleet of Rolls Royces ...:p

 

[Mdm Tang]

Osho, born Chandra Mohan Jain (Hindi: चन्द्र मोहन जैन) (11 December 1931 – 19 January 1990), also known as Acharya Rajneesh from the 1960s onwards, calling himself Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh during the 1970s and 1980s and taking the name Osho in 1989, was an Indian mystic and spiritual teacher who garnered an international following. His syncretic teachings emphasise the importance of meditation, awareness, love, celebration, creativity and humour – qualities that he viewed as being suppressed by adherence to static belief systems, religious tradition and socialisation. His teachings have had a notable impact on Western New Age thought,[3][4] and their popularity has increased markedly since his death.[5][6]

Osho was a professor of philosophy and travelled throughout India in the 1960s as a public speaker. His views against socialism, Mahatma Gandhi, and institutionalised religion were controversial. He also advocated a more open attitude towards sexuality, a stance that earned him the sobriquet "sex guru" in the Indian and later the international press.[7] In 1970 he settled for a while in Mumbai. He began initiating disciples (known as neo-sannyasins) and took on the role of a spiritual teacher. In his discourses, he reinterpreted writings of religious traditions, mystics and philosophers from around the world. Moving to Pune in 1974, he established an ashram that attracted increasing numbers of Westerners. The ashram offered therapies derived from the Human Potential Movement to its Western audience and made news in India and abroad, chiefly because of its permissive climate and Osho's provocative lectures. By the end of the 1970s, there were mounting tensions with the Indian government and the surrounding society.

In 1981, Osho relocated to the United States and his followers established an intentional community, later known as Rajneeshpuram, in the state of Oregon. Within a year the leadership of the commune became embroiled in a conflict with local residents, primarily over land use, which was marked by hostility on both sides. Osho's large collection of Rolls-Royce motorcars was also notorious. The Oregon commune collapsed in 1985 when Osho revealed that the commune leadership had committed a number of serious crimes, including a bioterror attack (food contamination) on the citizens of The Dalles. Osho was arrested shortly afterwards and charged with immigration violations. He was deported from the United States in accordance with a plea bargain.[8][9][10] Twenty-one countries denied him entry, causing Osho to travel the world before returning to Pune, where he died in 1990. His ashram is today known as the Osho International Meditation Resort.

 

[BuiKia]

Mam Tang trying hard to divert attention?