Two of them cooperated with the committee four provided incomplete records or refused altogether, citing church privacy rules.īISHOP EDDIE LONG: Don't let anybody tell you what God can't do.īURNETT: The committee looked at Atlanta megachurch pastor Bishop Eddie Long, and noted that he made trips in a church-leased jet to Las Vegas and Caribbean resort islands, and had a Rolls Royce and a Bentley. They all preach a prosperity gospel, which holds that wealth - the more the better - is evidence of God's blessings. Seven years ago, the Senate Finance Committee started investigating six high-flying ministries. STRECKFUS: Some of us feel that, you know, some of these televangelists have taken advantage of the fact that churches have little regulation by government and few reporting requirements.īURNETT: Even before church audits stopped, Congress was concerned that televangelists were misbehaving. They're as rich as large corporations, yet many of them are answerable to no one outside of the organization.
#KENNETH COPELAND INSIDE EDITION TV#
It's reasonable to ask, then, what happens with large TV ministries that are classified as churches? They take in tens of millions of dollars in revenue. And they don't have to report anything to anybody. They don't have to worry about being audited. They don't have to pay federal or local taxes. And so the IRS not only doesn't like the churches to be mad at them, but doesn't like Congress to be mad at them.īURNETT: Of all nonprofits, churches face the least scrutiny and oversight. They can scream and yell quite loudly and get members of Congress' attention. PAUL STRECKFUS: Why the IRS doesn't like to audit churches? The churches don't like it. Paul Streckfus, a tax attorney who edits the Exempt Organization Tax Journal, believes the IRS actually likes having an excuse for not bothering churches. NPR repeatedly asked for an explanation from the IRS about the hiatus in church audits, but it declined to comment. Here's the catch: Until that happens, there's no one in the government to authorize a church audit. But the IRS has not specified who that official should be. The Church Audit Procedures Act says a high-ranking Treasury official must sign off if the IRS demands a church's records. MARCUS OWENS: As of now, and in fact since 2009, the IRS has not, to the best of my knowledge, and, in fact, I don't believe can conduct an audit of a church.īURNETT: A church is the only type of nonprofit that enjoys special protection from an IRS audit. Marcus Owens is a private tax attorney in Washington, who used to lead the Exempt Organizations section at the IRS. JOHN BURNETT, BYLINE: Because of a quirk in rules by the Internal Revenue Service, the agency has effectively stopped auditing churches for the past five years. As a church, they can start preaching and passing the collection plate while remaining invisible to the IRS and keeping their finances private.Īs NPR's John Burnett reports, no other nonprofits in America - much less corporations - are allowed to generate so much cash with so little accountability.
#KENNETH COPELAND INSIDE EDITION SERIES#
SIEGEL: Today, part two of our series and the finding that any religious organization can call itself a church. Daystar describes itself as the fastest growing Christian TV network in the world. Yesterday, we featured an investigation into Daystar Television, headquartered in Dallas-Fort Worth. This week, we're bringing you two special reports that delve into the hidden finances of televangelists. I'm Robert Siegel in Washington.Īnd I'm Melissa Block, coming to you this week from member station KERA in Dallas. From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.