Appraiser Says Church’s Jet Not Tax-Exempt
December 9, 2008 | Read Time: 1 minute
A county appraiser in Texas has decided that a jet worth $3.6-million is not eligible to be tax-exempt, even though it is owned by a nonprofit ministry, because the ministry declined to disclose salaries of its directors, reports Fort Worth’s Star-Telegram.
The situation pits the Kenneth Copeland Ministry against Tarrant County in a battle over whether to disclose its top pay levels. The ministry is expected to protest the denial of exemption, the paper reports.
The ministry was the focus of Congressional interest last year, when Sen. Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, requested financial information of Mr. Copeland and other ministers. At the time, the church did not answer questions about compensation, the Star-Telegram reports.
A spokesman for the ministry declined to comment in the article.
