The London Daily News

Westminster, the City of London and Camden Council have been urged to scrap 80% rate relief on Church of Scientology buildings.

The Church of Scientology Religious Educational College Inc. is believed to have saved nearly £2m from commercial rate breaks in the capital - in 2008 the non-for profit organisation filed an income of almost £13m.

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said voters do not want to see preferential treatment of an organisation the Charities Commission refused to designate a church for tax reasons.

The Church of Scientology says local council authorities have "recognised the religious nature of Scientology".

Figures published in Private Eye revealed the full extent of how much the American based group benefits from rate relief.

The City of London saved the organisation £1.3m in rates on their London Org (centre) at Queen Victoria Street since 2006.

Westminster City Council has spared the group over £150,000 on its "London Celebrity Centre" in Leinster Gardens in more than a decade. The council classes the Church as a "non-registered charity" as it is "beneficial to the community,"

However, Camden Council have so far refused to reveal the discount it offers on the Scientologists "Stress Test Centre" on Tottenham Court Road.

Not all local authorities give the tax break, Manchester City Council and Mid Sussex District Council both charge the full commercial rate

Mr Pickles said: "Tolerance and freedom of expression are important British values, but this does not mean that the likes of Church of Scientology deserve favoured tax treatment over and above other business premises.

"The Church of Scientology is not a registered charity, since the Charity Commission has ruled that it does not provide a public benefit. Nor are its premises a recognised place of worship.

"Councils may award charitable relief. They should take into consideration the Charity Commission's rulings when weighing up whether to do so.

"I do not believe the majority of the public would want their own council to be giving special tax breaks to such a controversial organisation."

"Very popular"

A Church of Scientology spokesman told the Guardian:

"Scientology is very popular with those who have visited our churches, met with Scientologists and observed or utilised our numerous community activities that effectively address drug abuse, illiteracy, declining moral values, human rights violations, criminality and more.

"Local council authorities, government bodies in this country and many others, and the European Court of Human Rights have all recognised the religious nature of Scientology, or the fact that Scientologists are actively helping those in their communities as a direct reflection of their religious beliefs."

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mr greebly

Date Added: Sunday 17 October, 2010

"I don't assume you expect an answer to your hate propaganda." Someone states clear facts and it is considered propganda? Please explain in detail what benefit to each local community the Co$ as an organisation has peformed. When elderly couples can't get enough help with heating costs you want the UK tax paying population to subsidise something they are not involved with? Each day this organisation asks for more money from it's members while others happily study this belief system without having phonecalls, emails, letters everyday asking them to finance what? Transparency and accountability are the issues here. If it is a not-for-profit organsiation why does it charge 15,000 pounds to people who can't afford that sort of money and have to get credit? What is the invoice process for these "donations" for "courses"? why is there such a large amount of deferred income and when people ask for thier money back why does it take so long? Why do they have sign multiple legal documents and contracts when they sign up as a "member" of this organisation? Transparency and accountability to those who subsidise this organisation are the key issues here.

Berwin Bain

Date Added: Saturday 16 October, 2010

Regardless of where you stand on religious freedom (and I'd defend a Scientologist's right to believe in Lord Xenu and his 'Galactic Cruisers', on principle...) the simple fact is that Scientology is in decline. They have occupied a lot of town- and city-centre real estate, and they aren't doing anything with it. For the few members that still purchase Scientology services, a much smaller shop would suffice. In some towns such as York, they have abandoned shop premises entirely, and simply meet at a member's house. Buildings occupied by Scientology are largely idle (or completely idle, like the new centres Gateshead and Manchester, which never opened), when they could be put to better use. Meanwhile, local authorities miss out on hundreds of thousands of pounds of tax revenue... and the British taxpayer makes up the shortfall.

Louanne Lee

Date Added: Saturday 16 October, 2010

All trolling aside, the point is: This Mr. Pickles is guessing numbers and repeating rumors for a short day of fame in the media. Reality is different. Already in 2000 Revenue & Customs agreed that it was a not-for-profit body and was exempt from paying VAT. And in 2007 the United Kingdom Customs and Excise Office, after many years of thorough investigation, expert hearings and verification procedures agreed to refund 20 years of improperly collected Value Added Taxes with interest. This refund totaled more than $32 million. Do you think they would have paid it if there was any doubt? I don't think so. If you ever tries to get some money back from the tax office you know what I mean.

barb graham

Date Added: Saturday 16 October, 2010

Miss Hargreaves, You've been a very dedicated Scientologist for a very long time. As such, some of your data is skewed, as you're not allowed to look at both sides. So, a quick refresher course on Scientology "charitable" activities is in order. 1. After the London subway bombing, BBC interviewed a cluster of Scientology volunteer ministers, who bragged about interfering with legitimate mental health professionals who volunteered their services. 2. At Ground Zero, Scientology volunteer ministers were kicked off site for trespassing, and interfering with mental health professionals there to help people deal with their grief and trauma. 3. The "services" you mention are all scams designed to indoctrinate and recruit; whether it's getting children to read Hubbard's nonsense under the guise of literacy programs, or subjecting drug addicts to unproven, dangerous treatments as per L. Ron Hubbard's "teachings." You are quite right, this material is well-documented, and if the authorities aren't yet well-versed in the Scientology front group issue, they will be. You can depend on it. We will see to it that the word gets out. Expect us.

Alison Hargreaves

Date Added: Saturday 16 October, 2010

I know the Scientologists do a vast amount of emergency aid and relief work, much like the Red Cross. They were highly commended by the London police for their assistance after the 7 Sept bombings, worked all hours to provide food and drink & other aid for the emergency rescue teams. They have done similar major relief efforts freely given at Ground Zero after the World Trade Center disaster, worked for weeks around the clock there, at the Hurricane Catrina disaster, in Haiti and many teams of them went to assist in the Tsunami disasters. They also deliver a lot of drug rehabilitation advice, deliver correspondence courses to help criminals reform, and offer free assistance to people with study difficulties through their literacy campaigns. All of this is well documented and evidenced. I don't think this minister can be properly informed of all this.

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