Invent A Church, Skip Taxes, Enrage IRS, Go To Jail [View all]

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http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2014/09/28/invent-a-church-skip-taxes-enrage-irs-go-to-jail/


Robert W. Wood

9/28/2014 @ 10:17PM

Pass Christian is a city in Mississippi. The name seems fitting for a tax case about a church the feds say is pure tax scam. A Pass Christian physician named Timothy Dale Jackson was found guilty of four counts of felony tax evasion and one of obstruction of due administration of the internal revenue laws.

Prosecutors say the 50-year-old orthopedic physician funneled his practice income through the “Church of Compassionate Service,” a church the feds call a scam. Dr. Jackson took a ‘vow of poverty,’ claiming that as a minister, he was tax exempt. Despite his vow of poverty, he had a successful practice. Still, he hadn’t filed tax returns or paid any taxes since 2003.

Compassionate Service Church members “donate” to the church, renouncing all worldly possessions and transferred title to a Church trust. Ministers signed over their paychecks to the Church. In return, the Church provided debit cards for living expenses. The Church even paid their mortgage.

In fact, 90 percent of Dr. Jackson’s income was returned to him, say the feds. On $1.8 million of income just between 2006 and 2009, the doc owed the IRS $650,000. When he is sentenced, Dr. Jackson could face five years and a $250,000 fine for each count of tax evasion, plus three years and a $250,000 fine for obstructing the IRS.

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