After a lengthy investigation following a 2017 raid, Hungarian authorities issued indictments and levied $1.7 million assessment against scientology in Budapest for engaging in a conspiracy to avoid paying tax on income from the sale of books and services.
We talk with Peter Bonyai, who has been instrumental in bringing about action against scientology abuses in Hungary.
Peter got into Scientology in 1995 right after completing high school. He joined the local mission as a staff member and 2 years later joined the Sea Org at the local liaison/management base in Budapest, Hungary.
He was a Sea Org member for 8 years, until he was kicked out in 2005 over disagreements with ideal org fundraising and mistreatment of Sea Org members.
Peter wrote a book.
In 2015, he established a foundation (http://clarusanimus.eu/en/welcome/) to help ex-Scientologists and the relatives of Scientologist, and to assist the authorities.
Summary of Tax Charges
During a police raid in 2017, more than 2,000 documents were seized.
Following a lengthy investigation into Scientology’s activities by Hungary’s National Tax and Customs Administration, the Chief Prosecutor’s Office filed charges against Scientology alleging a cover-up scheme to avoid paying tax on the sale of books and courses for the years 2012-2017 – calling them “charitable donations” rather than commercial sales.
They allege: Scientology’s “primary goal was to obtain as much income as possible” and staff “were aware of the tax evasion, foresaw its consequence and did not intend to declare the tax” owed on its earnings.
Prosecutors demand jail time and recommended further fines to be imposed and for scientology’s accountant to be banned from practicing.
Data Protection Violations
The seized files were also used to impose a $112,000 fine for failing to comply with Hungary’s strict data protection laws. Strict rules govern how personal information is handled in Europe and when a former member’s request to delete his file was denied by the organization they were found guilty of misusing personal data, fined and banned from further illegal data processing. In the 2017 ruling, the President of the National Data Protection and Freedom of Information Authority (NAIH) raised concerns about Scientology’s record keeping, stating “really serious abuses” were found in the data held on its parishioners.
What Can You Do?
If you are a former scientologist in an EU Member country, you have the right to have ALL files scientology has on you destroyed. Failure to do so can result in criminal prosecution. All EU member nations have similar data protection laws, and an agency to enforce them.
Thanks for that inspiring video talk with Peter from Hungary. That Tax Office/Data Protection office certainly will give Miskiewicz some headaches. And probably landed some Hungarian, European and OSA Int people in the RPF – perhaps they then realize where they are and blow the lot.
1. Loved the part where you pointed to this Hernandez decision from the US Supreme Court.
The Hungarian attorneys for Scn will no doubt throw in the US IRS recognition and any recognition obtained in other countries of Europe. I believe there was something in the Netherlands, some minor recognition in Switzerland, and also in Spain. I hope you have sent a copy of that Hernandez decision to Peter so he can educate the Hungarian authorities and show that even the highest court in Scn’s homeland considers their actions quid pro quo services.
2. You’ve got to love these words: “Human dignity is inviolable. It must be respected and protected”. This shortest of all rights in the EU Charter of fundamental rights is the first one of over fifty others.
And while ‘Dignity’ at first may sound like an abstract concept legally speaking it is the mother of all rights. It is absolute and cannot be restricted. While being a self-standing guarantee it also forms the core of all other EU Charter rights: none of these rights “may be used to harm the dignity of another person, and … the dignity of the human person is part of the substance of the rights laid down in the EU Charter. It must therefore be respected, even where a right is restricted.”
Only a handful of the 28 EU Member States do not refer to dignity in their constitutional texts. For example in Germany, Romania and Portugal, dignity is put in the very first Article of the respective constitution and in Bulgaria and Spain dignity is mentioned in the preamble. Other constitutions provide dignity with a special role: The constitution of Belgium states that fundamental rights are guaranteed in order that everyone has the right to lead a life with human dignity. Article 30 of the Polish constitution says that dignity constitutes the “source of freedoms and rights of persons and citizens”.
Germany’s Constitutional Court has established the principle that, under this very Article 1 everyone has the right to what has been called “informational self-determination” thus bridging it to Data Protection/Right of Privacy.
3. Data are not only held on its “parishioners”* but also on every single critic called “enemy” by the DSA Hungary office. Peter has a file there too 😉 – together with the Fair Game program to be executed on him.
(*mark=a suitable victim, esp. for swindling)
At some point, though death or imprisonment, DM will leave the picture. The new leader of Scientology will have to ask the question: Where’s all the money?
Otherless, I keep hoping the villagers will finally wake up, unite, and storm DM’s castle. A hostile takeover would be sweet.
Finally. I’m not a tax lawyer. But since most of the monies get transferred, sent, wired to the USA directly to DM,COS, IAS, RTC etc. That’s considered wire fraud? Money laundering? Failure to pay VAT taxes. Ill gotten gains. The US COS should be complicit in this.
Just sketchy and fishy practices.
Possible crime to revoke the COS tax exemption status in US? Just like the pandemic h relief loans. Didn’t really go to pay the sheeple or pay off overdue orgs electric bills
And LEAH when get to court. Go for the whole enchilada of asking for at least $6 -8 billion in damages. CASH only. No decrepit buildings. That should clean them out.
Thank you for the invitation and the opportunity to speak about this. And it was an honor to have a chat with my heroes.
It is very possibile that now other EU countries will follow the same kind of investigation on scn that Hungary did.
That business pattern having nothing to do with charitable activities (lets not forget scn is against helping if there is no an exchange in return for that “help”) it is happening everywhere in EU since decades.
We must remember that there are never been evidences or records of any kind of real scn charity activities, except for those they clame.
Hip, hip, hurrah!
Finally a government with some balls.
Hope others will be encouraged to do the same.
Hip Hip Hurray for Hungary!