Freeborn:

Be aware that "public" Scientologists are regular people with regular careers and incomes (except for Cruise and Travolta, who have extraordinary incomes). If they don't pay taxes according to IRS rules, they find themsleves in the same trouble as anyone else.

I recall back in the 70s and 80s, the IRS was second only to American Psyciatric Association on the Scientology boogeyman list. Some public Scientologists employed questionable means to reduce or avoid taxes and bragged about it. But I've read that since the IRS settlement it is now a Scientology Ethics offence to cheat on income tax! Apparently part of the IRS settlement was that Scientologists would be required by their church to pay their taxes.

Mike

I guess I was thinking more about Sea Org members when I said that. But so far I have yet to hear anyone say they made real wealth from working for the cult.

We ought to be careful in this message board about making the distinction between public Scientologists, Sea Org, and non-SO staff. While public members generally know that Sea Org members don't "sign up to get rich," most are not aware of what really goes on in the SO when public are not around.

So when someone here writes "Life in Scientology is like ____, ____ and ____," and describes SO experiences, public Scientologists who may read this forum may think "I've been in Scientology 10 years and I never experienced that! Those critics are full of crap!"

But make it clear that SO experiences are from the SO, staff are staff, and public are public, then it is more likely that lurkers will releate what they read, and accounts from places they have not been may connect to other things they have heard about or suspected.

Mike

Good point, Mike.