Kenneth Copeland Requests an IRS Audit

Sen. Charles Grassley’s “most appropriate” course of action for obtaining information into the financial history of Kenneth Copeland Ministries (KCM) is to use procedural channels that exist between Congress and the Internal Revenue Service, stated a letter sent earlier this week to the IRS by attorneys at KCM requesting a church tax inquiry.

After the 90-day inquiry, the letter stated, “[KCM] is confident … the IRS will conclude that it is unnecessary to pursue a church tax examination.”

In a letter written earlier this month to the two top-ranking senators on the Senate Finance Committee, KCM expressed its concern over Grassley’s investigation possibly infringing on the ministry’s First Amendment rights. It also noted that the senator’s probe targeted six televangelists who all “share a common theology.”

Grassley has repeatedly denied insinuations that his problem is with theology. In addition, the finance committee’s chairman, Sen. Max Baucus, joined Grassley’s investigation last month, helping to alter any public perception that Grassley was acting unilaterally.

“This ought to clear up any misunderstanding about our interest and the committee’s role,” Grassley said last month. “We have an obligation to oversee how the tax laws are working for both tax-exempt organizations and taxpayers.”

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