Oppfylte ikke minimumskravet

Koblingen mellom religion og skattesnyteri er ikke direkte ny. Fortellingen om den amerikanske bankmannen som forsøkte å utnytte systemet overrasker derfor ikke storligen.

Men skal man gjøre dette, gjelder å vise at man oppfyller minstekravet til bevegelsen man går inn i. Vi siterer fra Chicago Tribune.

This is the story of Chicago banker George Michael, who lives in a gorgeous $3 million mansion in Lake Bluff. Being a man of logic and finance, he didn't much like his $80,000 yearly property-tax bill.

So he found an Internet outfit called the Church of Spiritual Humanism. According to the church's Web site, it's not big on faith, but it's all about reason:

"If you agree that Religion must be based on Reason, you can be ordained right now for free, and be still able to practice your own religious traditions by simply clicking the button below:

"ORDAIN ME."

And lo, Michael clicked "Ordain Me," and it was done.

Skal man første melde overgang til de fornuftstroende, hjelper det nok å ha litt mer i bagasjen enn Michael.

Michael's evidence that his mansion was a church included a copy of his snazzy Internet clergy ID card, which authorizes him to "perform all duties of the clergy including marriages, baby namings, invocations and all manner of religious ceremonies."

He also included a photograph of the home depicting a suspicious-looking cross on the exterior wall of the mansion. The photo appeared a tad askew.

"This equal-sided cross was drawn on the photograph with a marker and did not physically exist at the time the photo was taken," Galvin wrote in his order.

Et av de mer avslørende trekkene er nok at Michael ikke synes å ha hørt om dette som kalles for perspektivtegning.

Eller at det er greit at kirken faktisk brukes av andre enn nærmeste familie. Selv om det nok gjør medlemsregisteret håndterlig.

After the alleged sham photo was sent to the state, Michael put a more substantive cross on the wall -- it looked like two-by-fours painted black -- and Michael insisted he held services for his family on the indoor racquetball court. According to the judge's ruling, Michael was asked at his deposition if any strangers had attended his church services.

"He responded, 'Yes,' but he didn't know who the person was," Galvin wrote. He then quoted Michael as saying, "My brother brought a couple of guys with him."

Fristelsen ble nok ikke mindre med det stedsnavnet.