Tax-Exempt Status Denied For Television Evangelist's Jet

A county appraisal board has ruled that Kenneth Copeland Ministries $3.6 million jet isn't tax-exempt.

The Tarrant Appraisal District review board today in Fort Worth denied a protest by the television evangelist's attorneys. The board said the Fort Worth-area-based ministry refused to release salaries of its directors, including Copeland, his wife and other ministers.

Copeland attorney David Middlebrook says the ministry will consider its legal options but declined to elaborate.

Another Copeland attorney, Rick Duncan, said revealing ministers' salaries should be a concern to all churches in the county. But Tarrant Appraisal District employees started asking for the salary information from churches this year and said others have complied.

The jet is a 1998 Cessna Bravo 550 that can seat nine.

Copeland is among six large televangelist organizations targeted in a Senate Finance Committee investigation into allegations of questionable spending and lax financial accountability.

Contact Us