Deductibility of Mandatory Donations to Religious Organizations Under the Internal Revenue Code

Church of Scientology members discovered their inner selves through auditing I and studied Church doctrines and tenets during training sessions. To participate in the auditing and training sessions, members paid mandatory or fixed fees to the Church. In a recent United States Supreme Court Case, the Court considered whether the mandatory donations made to the Church of Scientology constituted a charitable deduction. The Court determined that the members made the mandatory donations with the expectation of a commensurate return benefit (i.e., a quid pro quo). and disallowed the charitable contribution deductions. Although the Court\u27s decision to disallow the deductions affected thousands of Church members, the Court\u27s decision reaffirmed longstanding precedent in the charitable contribution deduction area