Home(translation from Russian by Yevgeny Volkov)
The tax police has arrested property of St.-Petersburg Scientology centre for failure to meet requirements about repayment of debts on payments.
St.-Petersburg, 31 October. / Corr. ITAR-TASS Helen Jugina /.
Department of a Federal tax police service of RF (Russian Federation) in St.-Petersburg has arrested property of city's Scientology centre - religious totalitarian sense organization — for failure to meet requirements about repayment of debts on payments. 1,2 million roubles [about $240] is withdrawn from the safe of organization. Computers, audio- and video equipment, other property and office equipment are left to the chairman of centre on a storage in a rented room under the criminal liability.
The resolution about immediate payment of the taxes and penalties was made by results of checking up centre's financial and economic activity yet in the beginning of September. In spite of the fact that the cash money are received to them, the scientologists have not obeyed to the requirement, and a few roubles total still appear on their settlement account.
The check up of financial activity has revealed infringements of rules of running of book keeping and tax laws. The basic way of going off from a tax payment has become registration of the proceeds, received from hundreds of people, studying at seminars and courses, as a "member payments". Only in 1995 about 625 million roubles [$120,000] was made out thus. It was offered those who wish to be trained in centre to sign a declaration for reception in the members of organization.
Moreover the centre has "written off" the manuals on Dianetics and scientology, ostensibly intended for distribution to the students at courses and seminars. The sum of a writing off under the "sham" waybill has made 10,3 million roubles [$2,000]. The concealment of the proceeds on a hundred of thousands of roubles was made and at distribution of the literature through a Petersburg book-selling network. The tax policemen believe, that the money for the books sold in shops disappeared in someone's pocket, not acting in cash department of organization.
The penal sanctions to centre are made on more than 80 million roubles [about $16,000]. The check up has confirmed known all over the world "originality" of a money extraction way, for which the scientologists are in trouble from tax policemen of many countries.