Wishing everyone peace, love, awakenings (for those who need it) and good will upon mother earth.......

To whom it may concern:

I received a letter today (dated November 20th) from an attorney representing the Royal Way by the name of Deborah Drooz, with the firm Stroock and Stroock in Los Angeles, New York and Miami.

Ms. Drooz advised that Royal Way is "a California-based religious organization incororated under IRS Code 501 (c) (3)." And is therefore "exempt from most federal taxes...unless it generates 'unrelated trade or business income'..."

Ms. Drooz also says, "Because Royal Way has earned no such income, it is not required to file a federal income tax return (that is, a Form 990)."

Ms. Drooz further states, "the California Franchise Tax Board has determined that Royal Way is exempt from state franchise and income tax under Section 23701 (d) of the Revenue and Taxation Code. Hence, it is not required to file state franchise or income tax returns unless it has 'unrelated business income' as that phrase is defined at Section 23731 of the Code. As noted above, Royal Way has earned no such income."

Ms. Drooz then explained, "The Superiour Court of San Bernardino County has determined that Royal Way is entitled to a Religious exemption under 217 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, and hence is exempt from general property taxes. The organization recognizes that it is not exempt from special assessment taxes, and has always paid all such taxes promtptly and in full. In sum Royal Way has -- at all times -- complied fully with applicable taxation schemes and paid the assessments required of it."

It should be noted that there is less detailed disclosure required by the IRS, State of California and others regarding a religious nonprofit, which has been tax exempted, as opposed to say an educational nonprofit.

This is as provided and/or guaranteed by the US Constitution under the so-called "Separation of Church and State."

For example, Royal Way may not be required to disclose publicly such detailed specific information as all salaries, any and all compensation and/or expenses paid out in detail.

Nor is Royal Way required by law to produce an independently audited financial statement.

Nor is Royal Way somehow required by law to make such detailed accounting and financial records public.

Royal Way might choose to make such information available to the public, but not as required by law.

Some religious nonprofits disclose their finances to the general public in considerable detail and others do not.

Responding to Ms. Drooz,
Isn't the United States of America great! Unbelievable.
thankgod for your legal degree, you must be extremely proud to be practicing the honoroble an noble of profession of the law.

Ah yes, it was only a matter of time before the Holy Royal Way called in the high-priced tax lawyers to hide behind.
Its very typical that these so-called "religions" that are allegedly "spiritual" end up hiding behind high-priced tax lawyers, to exploit the loopholes in the tax code to their own personal advantage.
Unfortunately, many of these so-called religions are able to operate in secrecy, and to avoid the most basic of civic responsibilities.

This is why any reputable religion or church, instead of hiding behind fancy tax lawyers, would instead agree to the most basic process of transparency, and open up their books, and bring in certified accountants, to prove to the public where their money is going.
[www.ecfa.org]

All along, we have had people who claim to be from Royal Way, saying things like Royal Way "pays its taxes, and their books are in order".
Well, that was a joke, I guess?
I guess they meant... they pay their taxes by not paying any taxes, and they file their tax returns by not filing tax returns!

Yes, we all know guys like Benny Hinn and Royal Way, and these types of alleged "religions" can get away with financial murder, and can operate outside of the system of the most basic civic responsibility. Thus they are able to engage in very serious abuses of their members money, with no accountability. It would be great if parts of the exemptions for all of these so-called bogus religions, where reviewed, and some checks and balances were put into the system to curb abuses.
This is why the biggest and most serious con-artists start religions...you can make way more money by operating as a religion, than a legit business.

So Royal Way is claiming they have earned zero unrelated income? That's an interesting claim...
So Royal Way has hired fancy tax lawyers so it does not have to file Federal and State income taxes, and is exempt from Property taxes?

Great country, the USA, start your own religion, and live tax-free, yet still benefit from the taxes which pay for the roads, and other public services, with no oversight whatsoever. Who here on this list would like to escape from Federal taxes, and state taxes, and property taxes? Start a "religion" and you double your income overnight! Over the years, this is how these "religions" are able to get so rich, as the money compounds without taxes.

Also, since Royal Way refuses to prove salaries and compensation, then when the officers of Royal Way CLAIM the Michael Gottleib receives no income from Royal Way, we have no way to prove that is true, or is false. They could be making it up, and since they refuse to provide proof of their claims, their claims carry zero credibility. So since Royal Way refuses to provide any proof of their claims, their claims are just empty words, with no substance whatsoever.

Even though Royal Way can easily afford to hire tax lawyers, by hiding behind these tax lawyers, they lose all of their credibility. Religious groups like Royal Way, who hide and cower behind tax lawyers, should be avoided at all costs. Since Royal Way refuses to submit to the most basic principles of transparency, they have discredited themselves ethically.

Stay far away from any so-called "religious non-profit" who hires expensive tax lawyers to hide behind, to hide from public disclosure, and to hide from the most basic oversight and civic responsibility.

This is why reputable organizations submit to oversight, because there are such an extreme abuses of the system.
[www.ecfa.org]

The more groups like Royal Way hide behind tax-lawyers, the more they should be avoided at all costs, and not given one penny, not one cent in donations, and not one cent in fees for "courses".
Who knows where all that money is going, and what its being spent on?
The officers of Royal Way could have personal expenses of $800,000 a year per person, and be buying themselves fancy homes and fancy cars they can use for free, and living like Kings of the Royal Way, tax-free.
Imagine owning so much real estate and property, and not having to pay any property taxes, and no federal or state income taxes!

Hopefully one day these insane tax loopholes will be closed, and some proper regulations will be brought in.
But until then, the best thing to do is to TOTALLY avoid groups like Royal Way that hide behind tax lawyers, and only deal with groups who are ethical, and responsible and honest, and who are transparent, and publish audited financial statements.

No wonder the serious big time scammers open up their own "religion". That's why Hubbard started Scientology, to get rich quick, tax-free.

OK......Maybe they are covering their ASSests legally......perhaps !!

However, their ethics, and morlity can NOT be covered by the loopholes of the law.

The fact that Royal way has separated families, brainwashed lost souls, misguided its followers, and continues to suck the soul out of its own remains intact.

I still would like to know.....what happens when Michael dies? Would Royal way fold ? Would someone else take his place and run to the bank, laughing all the way ? Lets wait and see.......

Just because Royal Way's hired gun is making claims, does not mean a person can't file a confidential report with the IRS about Royal Way, if a person has concerns.

Royal Way could be making a "claim" that they don't have to file a federal tax return, but that doesn't mean that the IRS would agree. The IRS might have to do a full investigation to look into it.
From what has been said, it seems to revolve around 'unrelated business income' and that is something the IRS and other government agencies have to determine, by careful examination by forensic accountants.

Royal Way can't just go around making claims about its status, without ever showing any evidence. Since they choose not to show any evidence, their statements and claims are meaningless.
Its up to the IRS and the goverment to determine whether or not Royal Way is adhering to the regulations, and this is not yet known, as no evidence has been shown.

Royal Way is also talking about apparent rulings about Royal Way by the...
"California Franchise Tax Board"
"The Superior Court of San Bernardino County"

Perhaps, if these were actual rulings about Royal Way, some information would be available online, or if its older, at the courthouse, to get specific details about these cases. People could look into this.
It could be that Royal Way has been subject to investigations in the past, or is currently the subject of investigations.

For those who have concerns about Royal Way, it is their right to file a confidential report with the IRS, and other government authorities. The information to do so can be found here.

How Do You Report Suspected Tax Fraud Activity? [/color:9ee38bc00a]

[board.culteducation.com]

Dear Anticult,

As usual, you are absolutely correct. A claim by some overpaid attorney is just that....a claim ! I wouldn't be surprised if the attorney is even a current misguided follower.

Keep up the awesome work, continue to expose the fraud that this cult is.
Some inside information will be posted soon.......Stay tuned for more !!!!

rrmoderator:
The letter you received is interesting. Were any demands made in the letter? If so, can you elborate on what the attorney was seeking on behalf of Royal Way?

It seems strange to me that an attorney letter would simply make representations to a private party (you). Surely there must have been more substance in the letter...

I am not sure where RW is going with this and would like to know what they are up to.

I am not simply a private party, but the executive director of the Ross Institute, which is the sponsor of this message board.

The attorney representing Royal Way wanted this thread removed and a retraction/apology posted.

That request was refused.

Some concern was expressed by the RW attorney that the leader's teachings might be posted here and made public. A copyright claim was envoked with a warning.

The same type of copyright claim was used by the Mankind Project, when that group's training manual was posted on this message board.

The posted manual was subsequently edited into what's called "fair use" excerpts for the purpose of criticism.

See [board.culteducation.com]

No copyright claim was envoked beyond that point.

Just like a book or play review, material may be quoted for the purpose of criticism and/or analysis according to the courts.

See [www.culteducation.com]

The above link is to the NXIVM v. Ross Institute ruling made by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

NXIVM attempted to have a critical review of its training removed from the Ross Institute database based upon a copyright claim.

NXIVM lost its court action all the way to the US Supreme Court.

The material NXIVM objected to and attempted to have removed remains completely intact and has never been removed or censored in any way.

The Ross Institute has three attorneys on its Advisory Board, one specializes in libel and slander law.

The Ross Institute also has relied upon pro bono help from a number of large law firms and public interest groups that support First Amendment Rights.

See [www.cultnews.com]

Landmark Education sued the Ross Institute and ended up dismissing its own lawsuit with prejudice.

Landmark wanted to censor this message board.

Nothing was ever censored.

Landmark wanted to discover the identities of anonymous members of this message board that criticized its programs.

A federal judge rejected each and every effort Landmark made to discover any identity per Landmark's requests and all members remained protected.

Landmark later decided to dismiss its own lawsuit when numerous efforts to keep discovery through the lawsuit sealed failed. That meant, whatever the attorneys representing the Ross Institute found through the discovery process in the litigation would become public reorcd.

Looks like the letter from the attorney worked. There hasn't been a single post on this board for weeks!