Charity faces €125k tax bill after losing charity status
Howard Lake | 25 February 2010 | News
The House of Prayer, a controversial religious centre in the west of Ireland, faces a tax bill of more than €125,000 if the Revenue Commissioners do not reverse their decision to remove its charitable tax status, according to the Western People.
The charity, based on Achill Island, received €289,913 in charitable donations last year. It also earned €186,058 from the sale of “religious objects”.
The Revenue Commissioners revoked the organisation’s charity tax status in 2008. Christina Gallagher, the founder of House of Prayer founder, is now appealing this decision.
If the Revenue Commissioners’ decision is not revoked in relation to 2002 and 2003, the religious organisation could be liable for €125,000.
Newly filed accounts reveal that the organisation is facing some financial difficulties: for example, profit from a monthly lottery fell from €86,417 in 2008 to €9,442 last year.
According to the Western People, “Ms Gallagher was also forced to return approximately €250,000 to donors in 2009 after they initiated legal action against the House of Prayer”. The gardai did investigate the centre but the Director of Public Prosecutions decided against taking legal proceedings.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.