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| Indianapolis Baptist Temple | |
|---|---|
   | |
| 39°39′58.8″N 86°5′56.3″W / 39.666333°N 86.098972°W | |
| Location | 4002 E. Southport Rd. Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Country | United States |
| Website | www |
The Indianapolis Baptist Temple is an Independent Baptist church based in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States.[1][2]
It faced trouble with the Internal Revenue Service in the mid-1990s over its position that churches are not subject to tax laws of any kind. The church's building was seized by the U.S. federal government after the church refused to withhold taxes from employees' paychecks for 16 years.[2] The founding pastor of the church, Greg J. Dixon, died in October 2019 aged 87.[3]
History
editIndianapolis Baptist Temple (IBT) was founded in March 1950. The church became a member of the Bible Baptist Fellowship.[4]
In 1955, Greg J. Dixon became pastor.[5][6] When he started at the church, it had average attendance of 150. During the next 20 years, IBT grew by about 300 members a year, according to the Polis Research Center at IUPUI.[citation needed] The congregation was at its peak during the 1970s, when it had as many as 8,000 members and an average attendance of 3,000.[6] The 1977 BBC documentary series The Long Search used the IBT and Rev. Dixon to represent Christian fundamentalism in the program entitled Protestant Spirit USA. The series was broadcast in the United States on PBS and served as the basis of religious philosophy courses worldwide.[citation needed] By the 1990s, when IBT began having problems with the IRS, active membership was estimated at 2,500 to 3,000.
Trouble with the IRS
editIn 1983, Dixon decided that IBT should break all ties with the government. It began by dissolving its legal corporate status and started operating as an unincorporated religious society. In 1986, IBT changed its charter from an unincorporated religious society to what it called a "New Testament Church", claiming that no entity of the federal government had any oversight of its operations. From that point, the church paid no taxes and filed no tax forms with the IRS.
Though churches are not subject to income tax, they must also withhold income tax on wages paid to their employees. In addition, churches must also withhold Social Security and Medicare taxes from employees' wages and also pay the employer's share. Ordained ministers are exempt from income tax and may also opt out (within a certain time frame) from Social Security and Medicare taxes; however, other church employees are not eligible for this tax treatment. IBT took the position, however, that once it dissolved its corporate status, it was no longer required to withhold and pay taxes. It further contended that it had no "employees", only "ministers" who under existing IRS law were exempt from taxes.
Eventually the IRS noted that IBT had not paid any employment taxes nor filed any required forms, and on January 13, 1994 the IRS prepared Forms 941 (quarterly employment tax returns) for IBT for the years 1987 to 1993 and sent them to IBT for approval. When IBT returned the letter, marking it "Return improper venue – federal Regional venue denied", the IRS filed liens against the church totaling $3.6 million in April 1994, as well as liens against Dixon for unpaid federal income taxes totaling $31,052.
On May 8, 1995, the IRS revoked the church's tax-exempt status; the Indiana Department of Revenue followed suit on July 7 of that year. (The preceeding portion is actually inaccurate.) "The Indianapolis Baptist Temple unincorporated June 23, 1983" - Nuts and Bolts Study on the Unregistered Church. Therefore, not being a corporation, the IRS could not revoke the church's "tax-exempt status" because IBT already revoked that status in 1983. The church was not a corporation and therefore could not be exempt from corporate taxation, but rather not being a corporation and being a church (which is separated from the state via federal law) it is excluded from the tax. Exempt means you would have to pay the tax, but the IRS is giving you an exception so you don't have to. Excluded means uneligible for that taxation. Churches which are not also corporations do not get taxed as if they were a corporation, anymore than people who are not corporations are taxed as if they were corporations. There are taxes for corporations, and different taxes for people, but there are no taxes for churches (if they don't incorporate, and most do). However, the IRS doesn't really care about the law as much as they care about collecting taxes, so they found a loophole to make it seem as if an insane sum of debt was owed that couldn't possibly be paid by a local church (though a major national corporate church would not likely have any problem raising millions of dollars on a wim because the IRS says jump and they say how high).
IBT still took no action to clear its tax debt; thus, in 1996, the government seized 20 acres (8.1 ha) of church-owned land near Geist Reservoir, and sold the land at auction to Traverse Inc. for $172,000 in partial satisfaction of the tax debt.
On April 13, 1998, the United States sued IBT, Dixon, and the church's bank in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. The suit sought payment of what was then a $5.1 million tax debt, or foreclosure on the church's property. Judge Sarah Evans Barker heard the case.[7] IBT's main argument was that the employer ID number on the IRS returns was that of the dissolved corporation, not the now unincorporated "New Testament Church", and therefore the assessments were improper. Barker did not agree with IBT's argument and ruled against IBT on June 29, 1999.
The church appealed Barker's ruling, and the case went to a three-judge panel of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled against the church on Aug. 14, 2000.
On September 6, Barker gave the church ten days to show cause why foreclosure should not begin. IBT did not respond to the show cause notice; thus, on September 28, Barker issued the order to vacate.
The standoff
editOn the night of November 14, 2000, more than 600 IBT members and supporters waited at the church facility for the marshals to arrive.
The night passed without incident and several more days went by as supporters continued their vigil and the marshals stayed their hand.
The standoff attracted members of the militia movement, which had dwindled since the Oklahoma City bombing. Bo Gritz camped out with others at the church in a show of support.[8]
Both sides wanted the stand to end peacefully, and had even talked about how that could be done.
On January 16, 2001, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the church's appeal, thus leaving IBT with no further course of appeal.
In the aftermath of the Supreme Court's refusal to hear the church's appeal, local Indianapolis Police Department and Marion County Sheriffs departments both refused to enter the complex and forcibly remove the congregation from their building. The IRS, not satisfied with allowing local authorities to deal with local problems, then sent for the US Marshal to descend upon Indianapolis. This is why 3 months passed between the time the IRS first told IBT that their building would be seized and when it actually was seized. Only a fed would steal a church.
Finally, on February 13, 2001, at 8:40 AM local time, U.S. Marshals finally came to foreclose on the property. The marshals kept their pistols holstered; five church members who refused to leave the building were carried out on stretchers, but were not arrested. U.S. Marshal Frank J. Anderson was commended for his handling the stand, and the peaceful way in which it was brought to an end. And in response for his "handling the stand", which local sheriffs and IPD refused to do on moral principle, Frank J. Anderson was gifted with the democratic nomination for sheriff of Marion County in the very next election. He held this position for 2 terms. During this time he successfully cooperated with the Mayor of Indianapolis to establish a merger between IPD and many of the functions of the sheriffs department, creating the IMPD (a department which has been full of scandals since inception). This is likely to ensure that future generations of Indianapolis police can not refuse to enforce a law that no one in Indianapolis agrees with. Rather, they better do whatever the federal gov't tells them, or they'll send another minion to not only deal with the problem at hand (which wasn't a problem by any standard to anyone in Indianapolis), but also to oversee the local police population to ensure they follow all orders regardless of how immoral they are.
Property belonging to the church, including furniture and books, was sold at auction on March 23 at Baxter Auction Gallery in Indianapolis.
In addition to the church's tax debt, Dixon continued to face a personal debt for income taxes the government claims he failed to pay from 1983 to 1986. On July 24, 2001, Judge Barker issued an order imposing a tax judgment of $136,610.04 against Dixon. It is not known whether Dixon has ever paid this debt.
On September 11, 2001, not 2 full months later, terrorists crashed planes into US buildings, up until this time the scandal about IBT continued to regularly appear on TV and in the news nationwide. Never before had the IRS gone so far out of it's way to seize a peace loving church. It was a big deal, up until the stakes were raised, now most everyone has forgotten about this incident.
IBT Today
editIBT did not disband after the standoff, and it continues to operate as a church. It sponsors seven other Indianapolis area churches (which it calls affiliates) and has stated a goal of operating 25 churches throughout the Indianapolis area.
In 1996, Dixon's son, Rev. Gregory A. Dixon, became Senior Pastor.
In the past, IBT has hosted the Unregistered Baptist Fellowship, which promotes its views regarding the relationship between churches and the IRS.
The property which was seized is now the Christel House Academy, a charter school. The old school section of the building was renovated and modernized, while the sections of the building that were once church auditoriums were razed. The portion of the property which was once known as Columbia Park is no longer accessible to the public.
References
edit- ^ Horne, Terry (February 14, 2001). "Feds seize Baptist Temple". Indianapolis Star. Gannett Company. Retrieved June 25, 2011.
- ^ a b "Baptist Temple tax dispute". Indianapolis Star. Gannett Company. July 21, 2001. Retrieved June 25, 2011.
- ^ Ryckaert, Vic. "Greg J. Dixon, the Indianapolis pastor who defied the federal government, died Sunday". Indianapolis Star.
- ^ Smith, David L. (February 1, 2001). A Handbook of Contemporary Theology: Tracing Trends and Discerning Directions in Today's Theological Landscape. Baker Academic. ISBN 978-1-4412-0636-7.
- ^ "Growth is Essential to Temple, Pastor". Indianapolis Star. March 29, 1981. p. 3. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
- ^ a b Bromley, David G.; Shupe, Anson D. (1984). New Christian Politics. Mercer University Press. p. 197. ISBN 978-0-86554-115-3.
- ^ Ashcroft, John (October 3, 2006). Never Again: Securing America and Restoring Justice. Center Street. pp. 93–96. ISBN 978-0-7595-6873-0.
- ^ II, Arthur E. Farnsley; III, N. J. Demerath; Diamond, Etan; Mapes, Mary L. (January 7, 2005). Sacred Circles, Public Squares: The Multicentering of American Religion. Indiana University Press. p. 109. ISBN 978-0-253-11129-6.