Benny Hinn Tax Exemption Under Review

Fort Worth Star Telegram ^ | August 13, 2005 | Darren Barbee

[pkajj]

Tax exemption under review

By Darren Barbee Star-Telegram Staff Writer 13 August 2005 The Fort-Worth Star-Telegram

The tax-exempt status of faith healer Benny Hinn's $6.5 million world headquarters in Grapevine is being examined by the Tarrant Appraisal District after a televangelist watchdog group this week questioned whether the property should be considered a church.

The review of the property at 3400 William D. Tate Ave., triggered by a request of the Dallas-based Trinity Foundation, is considered somewhat unusual, appraisal district officials said. But any request for a review is investigated as a matter of policy.

The ministry's 58,000-square-foot facility, with 235 employees, passed muster with the district in July 2003, when it was granted a property-tax exemption, according to the ministry and appraisal district documents.

Hinn is known for worldwide crusades in which believers are promised miracle healings. But Trinity contends that the ministry hides its spending from donors and uses donations to provide Hinn with a multimillion-dollar California parsonage and a seven-figure salary.

Ministry spokesman Ronn Torossian said that the Grapevine facility meets all requirements for its tax exemption and that the organization spends all of its money on spreading the gospel and providing for the needy. He lashed out at Trinity President Ole Anthony, calling him and his organization anti-Christian and anti-religious.

"They are on their crusade ... to harm Christianity, to harm religion," Torossian said in a telephone interview from New York. "And we find no credence in anything they say or do."

Anthony said that Trinity, a nonprofit religious organization, brought the matter to the district's attention because he wants to bring "integrity to the body of Christ."

But Anthony also said he opposes ministers "becoming fabulously wealthy on the backs of God's people."

The Grapevine building is used to handle the mail and phone calls of Hinn's ministry, according to Anthony and appraisal district documents. In a Wednesday letter, Anthony asked chief appraiser John Marshall to re-evaluate the gated property, in part because no public worship services are held there and only those with access cards or permission are allowed entry.

"Designating this organization as a church would be tantamount to naming Interstate Batteries, General Motors, the Dallas Cowboys and other for-profit corporations as churches because they hold periodic Bible studies on their premises," Anthony wrote.

Vinita Tribble, the district's support services director, was part of a team that initially examined the property for tax-exempt status.

"What we're doing at this time is re-examining the evidence that we have," Tribble said. She said the district has an obligation to investigate any allegations that an exemption was granted in error.

"It will stay under continual review as the situation develops," she said.

By law, a religious property-tax exemption may be granted if a property is regularly used as a place of worship, she said. That can mean anything from individual meditation to a group ceremony to religious education.

The district approved the ministry's 2003 request for an exemption only after asking for several documents, including the ministry's bylaws and its authorization from the secretary of state to do business in Texas. District officials also asked for a detailed explanation of how the property is used primarily as a place of regular religious worship.

In April 2003, the ministry responded that:

All employees are Christians and have "some form of organized worship, fellowship, prayer and biblical study at the Grapevine property on almost every business day."

The property has a sanctuary devoted to religious worship.

Call-center operators pray with callers and take tithes and offerings.

In addition, Tribble said, the property was granted a certificate of occupancy from Grapevine that described the facility as a church.

"The evidence that I was provided with the application was sufficient ... to bring it within the property-tax exemption statute," she said.

The ministry's attorneys acknowledged to the district that the building does not offer public worship services. And in 2000, a ministry spokesman told the Star-Telegram that the building would be "a traditional corporate office facility. ... There will be no facilities to accommodate the general public."

But not every inch of a property must be devoted to worship to qualify as a church, Torossian said.

"Our underlying religious purpose at our property in Grapevine is that of a church religious organization with religious beliefs and religious services, which are performed," he said.

[wallcrawlr]

Call-center operators pray with callers and take tithes and offerings.

Imagine that. They are probably linked.

[TommyDale]

It's time to crack down on all the abusers of the IRS rules on
"religious non-profit organizations", regardless of who it is.

[Junior_G]

Please, somebody knock this charlatan down a notch or two. Benny Hinn is the worst.

[BlueNgold]

Has Benny given up wearing a wire to get his 'insights' yet? Or has his information system just gotten better with time and technology?

[GovernmentShrinker]

Religious organizations and properties shouldn't get any tax exemption to begin with. Repeal those exemptions, and watch how fast religious groups mobilize their followers to attack excessive taxation across the board. Also would eliminate the stupid restrictions on political activity by religious organizations.

[joesnuffy]

Mammon preachers...anathema to Christ

[queenkathy]

Hinn is known for worldwide crusades in which believers are promised miracle healings I've never heard Benny Hinn "promise" anyone a miracle.

[Boondock_Saint]

"They are on their crusade ... to harm Christianity, to harm religion," Torossian said in a telephone interview from New York. "And we find no credence in anything they say or do."

Fuuny, I think the same way about Benny Hinn.

[PAR35]

Tax Exemption Under Review (Benny Hinn...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1462737/posts

The IRS is also looking:

IRS Looking at Benny Hinn Organization
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1437697/posts

[Steve_Seattle]

"I've never heard Benny Hinn "promise" anyone a miracle."

I don't know if he promises miracles to specific people, but he makes general promises/predictions that miracles will occur at his crusades. And I think it's pretty well documented that he is personally making a LOT of money. Yes, he does seem to work hard - he's globe-trotting all the time - but there are genuine questions about both his "miracles" and his finances. I don't think raising those issues makes someone anti-Christian, although anti-Christians certainly do relish tales of hypocritical and money-grubbing televangelists.

[msf92497]

I believe Benny Hinn to be a fraud.

Take him to the cleaners.

[Bar-Face]

I agree with you 100%. Churches generate millions in tax free income with their publishing arms and stores. In addition their property is not taxed.Drive down Main street in any town and look at the multi million dollar properties that do not pay a dimes worth of tax.
This tax exemption is nothing more than the government endorsing and SUBSIDISING religion.
In addition, by granting a tax exemption to churches, the government is saying, "we will reward you, if you act and think as we say."
Another misuse of our tax money that may go away, if we ever move to a national sales tax instead of this abomination we have now.

[JohnnyZ]

Religious organizations and properties shouldn't get any tax exemption to begin with.

The power to tax is the power to destroy.

Besides, in a fair taxation scheme, the government would owe churches billions in tax credits.

[Steve_Seattle]

"Funny, I think the same way about Benny Hinn."

My opinion is that televangelists generally do more harm than good. Some - Mike Murdock, Hinn, Joyce Meyer - seem to be in it to make a lot of money. Others - Jack van Impe, Jan Crouch, Perry Stone, Steve Munsey - also seem to be rather strange individuals. A few - Charles Stanley, James Robison come to mind - seem more-or-less straightforward and honest. But overall, these people do a poor job of representing Christianity to the outside world. And, unfortunately, for millions of the unchurched, televangelists ARE Christianity.

[GovernmentShrinker]

A bigger problem than "government endorsing and subsidizing religion" in general, is that this system clearly requires government to pass judgement on what is and isn't a "legitimate" religion, and on what sorts of belief systems do and don't constitute "religion".

[GovernmentShrinker]

The power to tax is the power to destroy.

Indeed. But have you noticed how almost no religious organizations make a priority of teaching that to their members? Giving them tax-exempt status has co-opted them into passive endorsement of the whole taxation system. Brilliant move on the part of the socialists, since so many people's beliefs are formed and guided by the teachings of their religions.

[Steve_Seattle]

"This tax exemption is nothing more than the government endorsing and SUBSIDISING religion."

Not if the churches operate schools. Where I live, a typical Catholic church and school occupies a city block, which would represent about $50,000-80,000 in "lost" property taxes. But that school saves the taxpayers more than a million dollars a year, e.g., a school with 320 students would save the taxpayers $1,120,000 per year if the average cost to educate a student in the public schools is $3,500/year, which I think is a conservative estimate). So in some cases the churches are actually subsidizing the government - the tax dollars of all those parochial school parents go to the public schools.

[Diddle E. Squat]

But his theme song is awesome!

[BigFinn]

For anyone interested