Michael and Maria Sklar, whose children attend the Toras Emes school, say that they should be entitled to deduct their tuition costs - just as members of the Church of Scientology are entitled to write off their "spiritual counseling" expenses. The Sklars' lawyer, Jeffrey Zuckerman, submitted a copy of the secret agreement to this effect between the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and the Scientologists. The agreement had been leaked to the Wall Street Journal, and Zuckerman asked that it be admitted into evidence. The IRS' lawyer objected, and the judge said he would consider the request.
After several years of successfully claiming the tuition deduction, Michael Sklar was audited by the IRS in 1994, and the claim was disallowed. He sued and lost both the case and a subsequent appeal. The current lawsuit was filed over his 1995 return, in which he wishes to save some $3,200 in taxes on about $15,000 in tuition costs.
"The same benefit is given to a particular sect, Scientologists, and there's no reason it shouldn't be applied to someone else," Sklar said. The lawyer for the IRS countered that the law states clearly, "Deduction for religious school tuition is illegal, period," and that a ruling to the contrary would lead "millions of Americans to start deducting religious school tuition."
In addition to arguing that there must be no preferential treatment towards Scientology over other religions, Sklar also claimed that the tuition was a charitable contribution in that his children received an "intangible religious benefit" far beyond mere education. Torah is a "living, breathing text," he told the court, "which actually has an effect on body and soul... That is what recharges us and renews our link with G-d."
Rabbi Yaakov Krause, who heads the Toras Emes school and testified on the Sklars' behalf, said, "I don't know any parent who would send their children to our school [merely] for the general studies program."
Rabbi Krause told the Hamodia weekly newspaper, "A private school may teach a full curriculum with a smattering of Judaic studies. A yeshiva is a religious institution with a secular component." The rabbi further explained, "The study of Torah is a religious imperative, the obligation of a layman and rabbi alike. We actually recite a blessing before studying Torah... The fact that we have these Judaic studies in the morning goes a long way to setting the priorities straight in the minds of the students."
The case is expected to last several more weeks.