Category: Michael and Marla Sklar

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today rejected taxpayers Michael and Marla Sklars‘ argument that they were entitled to claim deductions for tuition and fees paid to their children’s Orthodox Jewish day schools, the Justice Department announced.

Among other things, the Sklars argued that denial of their claimed deductions violated the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution, as well as principles of administrative consistency, because allegedly similar deductions were allowed for members of the Church of Scientology under a closing agreement with the Internal Revenue Service ( IRS ).

At one point, the IRS lawyer actually warned the court that the tax collector would have difficulty resolving tax disputes if the IRS were forced to disclose its secret agreement with the Scientologists.

Tax lawyers are watching a trial in Los Angeles that pits an orthodox Jewish family against the Internal Revenue Service over whether tuition for religious education is deductible — based in part on a “secret” settlement between the IRS and the Church of Scientology. “It’s not clear that Michael and Marla Sklar will win, but if they do, it may well mean that millions of families will be able to deduct some portion of private religious school education,” said professor Evelyn Brody, a Chicago-Kent College of Law tax specialist. “It would force the IRS to deal with millions of

LOS ANGELES (AP) – A lawyer for an Orthodox Jewish couple claimed Monday the Internal Revenue Service has unfairly refused to allow tax deductions for their children’s religious schooling. Michael and Marla Sklar claim that since Church of Scientology members are allowed to write off the cost of spiritual counseling sessions, they should be allowed to write off their children’s Jewish school tuition. The nonjury trial opened Monday in U.S. Tax Court before Judge John O. Colvin. Scientology and the IRS L.A. couple suing IRS to win deduction for religious school tuition Court Case Poses Challenge to Scientology Tax Break

It turns out that liberals are right. For years now, the American government has established state religion. No, it’s not evangelical Christianity. It’s Scientology. Because of a 1993 secret deal with the Internal Revenue Service, members of L. Ron Hubbard‘s Church of Scientology are allowed to write off costly Scientologist “auditing” and “training” services as charitable gift deductions. Anyone who sends their child to religious school, however, is banned from writing off tuition. Scientology and the IRS Secret IRS/Church of Scientology Agreement Revealed The Secret Agreement Note that the so-called ‘church’ of Scientology is a hate group Research resources on

LOS ANGELES � An Orthodox Jewish couple barred from writing off tuition paid to the religious school attended by their children are claiming the decision by the Internal Revenue Service violated the First Amendment. In their lawsuit, Michael and Marla Sklar of Los Angeles contend the IRS erred by disallowing their tax deduction while permitting Scientologists to write off the cost of spiritual counseling and instruction on that religion’s tenets. Scientology and the IRS Secret IRS/Church of Scientology Agreement Revealed The Secret Agreement Note that the so-called ‘church’ of Scientology is a hate group Research resources on Scientology “I feel

LOS ANGELES, March 21 – A trial is to begin here on Wednesday morning to determine whether a Jewish couple can deduct the cost of religious education for their five children, a tax benefit they say the federal government has granted to members of just one religion, the Church of Scientology. The potential ramifications are huge, for a ruling in favor of the couple could affect the millions of Americans who send their children to religious schools of all types. At stake is whether people of all religions can deduct the cost of religious education as a charitable gift, as