ILLINOIS MAN TURNS MANSION INTO CHAPEL, RUNS AFOUL OF TAX COLLECTORS
Ted Webb
IndyPosted
April 5 2010
An Illinois man with lakefront property worth millions of dollars
got himself ordained as a minister through an online program and
converted part of his mansion into a chapel.
Then he filed for a religious tax exemption.
But state and local officials say George Michael’s (not George Michael
the famous singer, a different George Michael) trying to scam the
system, ABC News reports. Local officials say he owes $225,000 for
2007-2009 property taxes. Michael of Lake Bluff, Ill. is fighting the
bill in court, claiming his family has health issues, and he simply
wants to make it easier for them to worship at home.
The faith Michael claims – the Armenian Orthodox religion – conflicts
with the church that licensed him online, the Church of Spiritual
Humanism, a state judge said, calling the property owner’s application
a "sham."
"To be tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code,
an organization must be organized and operated exclusively for exempt
purposes set forth in section 501(c)(3), and none of its earnings
may inure to any private shareholder or individual," The Internal
Revenue Service (IRS) says on its Web site. "The organization must
not be organized or operated for the benefit of private interests."
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