Scratch, DCP, and the IRS

[_Mister Scratch]

Did you know beforehand that he'd received $20,000 for being "Chair" of FARMS?

I didn't, of course.

Either you did receive it, and you have been lying about it, or it was somehow "funneled" back into BYU, so that the Mopologetic Machine could be kept alive. If you didn't receive the 20K, by the way, then it would seem that you lied to the IRS.

And did you know, moreover, that the FARMS accountant had been fired?

Presumably because he was about to blow the whistle on our corruption, or some such thing.

Probably because he told the truth to the IRS---i.e., that you were raking in thousands for your apologetics.

I daresay that this issue has rocked apologetics to its very core

LOL. I'm the only person involved with the Maxwell Institute who's even aware of Scartch's nonsense on this issue.

Nope---Bill Hamblin is aware too, as is, I would imagine, Lou Midgley. And let's not forget that LDS apologetics consists of more than just the MI. (The MI is merely the best-funded, "officially sanctioned by the Church" arm of apologetics.) It seems that criticism of apologists getting paid was a hot topic at the FAIR conferences, as evidenced by K. Shirts's YouTube videos. It also merited a lengthy thread over at the aptly named MADboard. Feel free to publish a truthful "confessional" in your next FARMS editorial if you are so comfortable about people knowing the truth. You should photocopy the publicly available 990 form as well, so that everyone can read the line that says, "Daniel C. Peterson, Chair..........$20,000".

[_Dr. Shades]

Hi Mister Scratch,

Dr. Peterson has stated that the $20,000.00 figure was paid to BYU's Department of Near Eastern Languages in order for the Maxwell Institite (or its equivalent back then) to "borrow his time," if that makes any sense. In other words, the same BYU department kept paying him, but the MI was essentially renting his labor from BYU and compensating them for his absence.

Ergo, money changed hands between his bosses, but his own paycheck never changed.

Someone else--The Nehor, if I recall correctly--said that in Academia this sort of thing happens all the time.

What do you think of that situation/state of affairs? I have to admit that it sounds legitimate enough to me; am I mistaken, and if so, how?

[_Mister Scratch]

Hi Mister Scratch,

Dr. Peterson has stated that the $20,000.00 figure was paid to BYU's Department of Near Eastern Languages in order for the Maxwell Institite (or its equivalent back then) to "borrow his time," if that makes any sense. In other words, the same BYU department kept paying him, but the MI was essentially renting his labor from BYU and compensating them for his absence.

Ergo, money changed hands between his bosses, but his own paycheck never changed.

Someone else--The Nehor, if I recall correctly--said that in Academia this sort of thing happens all the time.

What do you think of that situation/state of affairs? I have to admit that it sounds legitimate enough to me; am I mistaken, and if so, how?

Thank you for asking, Dr. Shades. I may be alone here in actually having looked at the IRS instructions for filling out the 990 form. In it, I discovered that the kind of transactions DCP has been describing, need to be noted on the 990 form. The IRS tends not to appreciate it when people play fast and loose with the facts. So, if DCP never actually *received* the $20,000, as the document states, then, well, the document should not state that he received $20,000. The form states unequivocally that Daniel C. Peterson and other members of the FARMS board received payments of, in most cases, $1,000 or more.

There are some other facts that complicate the whole story:
---DCP has suggested that the accountant who filled out the 990 form in question was fired for "incompetence," or something of that nature.
---The Nehor state that this is "common" in academia, but where is his evidence? It may very well be that DCP earned a smaller salary for teaching fewer classes. But, how does this change the fact that he was paid $20,000 by FARMS? He has repeatedly denied that he was paid by FARMS, and yet... That is what the document clearly says. Supposing that The Nehor is right, DCP was still paid quite a large sum by an apologetic organization.
---At the time the 990 forms were issued, FARMS was not yet a part of BYU, and in fact, during this period, FARMS was in the process of being "absorbed" into the Lord's University. If such a thing was going on, how might it complicate the payment process?
---DCP's main line of argument is that he never "saw" or "pocketed" the $20,000, but this, to my mind, does not explain where the 20 G's went. Further, unless I am mistaken, he has never said definitively that the money went towards his BYU salary. This means that it could have been dumped back into FARMS. (And he's never denied that this happened, probably for good reason.)

I have to admit, when I first looked at the tax forms, I was sort of stunned. After all, here was concrete evidence that DCP had been paid---and how!---for doing apologetics. But, as more information came to light, I began to worry that The Good Professor might find himself in some major-league hot water over this. After all, as he made clear to Gadianton, if FARMS had engaged in tax fraud, he (i.e., DCP), as Chair of FARMS, could very well be culpable.

I don't really think there was any "tax fraud," though. Failing to disclose the rather sneaky financial relationship between FARMS and BYU is different that trying to cheat Uncle Sam out of his taxes.

In any event, there are still some unanswered questions. I still wonder, for example, if the 20K was actually in excess of DCP's salary, but he arranged for it to be funneled back into apologetics. I also wonder why the accountant who filed those 990 forms was fired. Does the firing suggest that the forms are inaccurate? Finally, why is BYU so secretive about its finances? One can learn the average salaries for most major U.S. universities by visiting the website for the Chronicle of Higher Education, and yet BYU's listings are conspicuously absent.

Edited to add:

Ergo, money changed hands between his bosses, but his own paycheck never changed.

That's another odd piece of the puzzle: DCP was the Chair of FARMS and was thus his own boss.. He acts all aloof about where the $20,000 went, claiming that he "hates" tax forms and the like, but, if he were Chair, I would imagine that he knew exactly where it went, and, increasingly, I suspect that he funneled it back into FARMS and apologetics. I doubt that it went to BYU at all, and suspect instead that he collected the money, and simply "donated" it back to FARMS.

[_Yoda]

Someone else--The Nehor, if I recall correctly--said that in Academia this sort of thing happens all the time.

Actually, it was me. ;)

I was "loaned" to a partnering affiliate for developing and teaching a course, but was still technically paid by the college I worked for.

[_Daniel Peterson]

Either you did receive it, and you have been lying about it, or it was somehow "funneled" back into BYU, so that the Mopologetic Machine could be kept alive. If you didn't receive the 20K, by the way, then it would seem that you lied to the IRS.

Thus, by the magic of Scartchoscopics, I'm a liar either way!

"Scratch . . . always tries to see the good in people." (Gadianton, 7-11-08, MDB)

"The truth of the matter is that there is literally no way that this [as yet unseen] letter is not damning in some way." (Scratch, 7-30-08, MDB) "Actually, you lose either way." (Scratch, 7-31-08, MDB) "Why not admit defeat. . . ? There'd be more dignity in it." (Scratch, 8-12-08, MDB)

Anyway, you're wrong. If the $20K is what I think it was, it was "funneled back into BYU" -- which is to say, it was transferred in a very routine manner from one BYU entity to another -- in order to help the Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages "be kept alive." My time was purchased from my department so that I could devote it to directing and editing the Middle Eastern Texts Initiative. Since my department still had to teach the classes that I taught even though I would not be available to teach them, it was only fair that (what is now) the Maxwell Institute compensate my department for the loss of my services.

I've explained this to you before.

Probably because he told the truth to the IRS---i.e., that you were raking in thousands for your apologetics.

This is flatly untrue, Scartch, and you're a malevolent character assassin.

LOL. I'm the only person involved with the Maxwell Institute who's even aware of Scartch's nonsense on this issue.

Nope---Bill Hamblin is aware too, as is, I would imagine, Lou Midgley.

I doubt that very much.

It seems that criticism of apologists getting paid was a hot topic at the FAIR conferences, as evidenced by K. Shirts's YouTube videos.

The fact that Kerry Shirts may perhaps have been aware of your claims -- he's apparently posted here occasionally, so he may know of you, but you're far and away not the only loon who fantasizes about my mythical Mopologist riches -- scarcely means that it was a topic of general discussion (let alone a "hot" one) at the FAIR conference.

Dr. Peterson has stated that the $20,000.00 figure was paid to BYU's Department of Near Eastern Languages in order for the Maxwell Institite (or its equivalent back then) to "borrow his time," if that makes any sense. In other words, the same BYU department kept paying him, but the MI was essentially renting his labor from BYU and compensating them for his absence.

Ergo, money changed hands between his bosses, but his own paycheck never changed.

Someone else--The Nehor, if I recall correctly--said that in Academia this sort of thing happens all the time.

What do you think of that situation/state of affairs? I have to admit that it sounds legitimate enough to me; am I mistaken, and if so, how?

You got it right, Shades.

It may very well be that DCP earned a smaller salary for teaching fewer classes.

As I've repeatedly explained to you, my salary was unchanged. I taught fewer classes but did more editing. My department hired me to teach classes, so it was only fair that its contribution to my salary be decreased with the decrease in course instruction. The Institute wanted me to edit texts, so it was only fair that it contribute a proportionate share of my salary. This was worked out between the Institute and my department.

Supposing that The Nehor is right, DCP was still paid quite a large sum by an apologetic organization.

An apologetic organization that also publishes entirely non-apologetic materials like Averroës's Middle Commentary on Aristotle's De Anima, the Metaphysics of Avicenna, the Medical Aphorisms of Maimonides, and etc. My time was purchased so that I could devote it to editing those and other such texts.

This means that it could have been dumped back into FARMS. (And he's never denied that this happened, probably for good reason.)

The money was not dumped back into FARMS.

I have to admit, when I first looked at the tax forms, I was sort of stunned.

It was a watershed moment in the history of Mopologetics, and apologetics was rocked to its very core. Or something like that.

After all, here was concrete evidence that DCP had been paid---and how!---for doing apologetics. But, as more information came to light, I began to worry that The Good Professor might find himself in some major-league hot water over this. After all, as he made clear to Gadianton, if FARMS had engaged in tax fraud, he (i.e., DCP), as Chair of FARMS, could very well be culpable.

I don't much appreciate anonymous public insinuations that I may be guilty of a federal crime. It's just one of my little eccentricities.

I don't really think there was any "tax fraud," though.

It's true that Max was standing over the body with a smoking gun in his hand, but, even though I'm sharing this with you as an eyewitness, I really don't think that he killed her.

Failing to disclose the rather sneaky financial relationship between FARMS and BYU

There was and is no "rather sneaky financial relationship" to "disclose."

Your obsessive and malevolent gaze doesn't discover crimes so much as it invents them.

I still wonder, for example, if the 20K was actually in excess of DCP's salary, but he arranged for it to be funneled back into apologetics.

I didn't. (What nonsense.)

I also wonder why the accountant who filed those 990 forms was fired.

Jersey Girl's description of you as a "gossip whore" was right on target.

The reasons for his dismissal are absolutely none of your business.

Does the firing suggest that the forms are inaccurate?

There was absolutely no connection between his firing and this form. But we weren't satisfied with his work.

DCP was the Chair of FARMS and was thus his own boss.

I was the chairman of the board, not the director or CEO. We hired people to take care of administrative details, taxes, etc. The board was made up of academics, and we concerned ourselves with academic matters. The business matters we left to others, so far as we were able to do so.

He acts all aloof about where the $20,000 went, claiming that he "hates" tax forms and the like, but, if he were Chair, I would imagine that he knew exactly where it went

Even better: As the recipient of my salary, I know where that $20K didn't go.

and, increasingly, I suspect that he funneled it back into FARMS and apologetics. I doubt that it went to BYU at all, and suspect instead that he collected the money, and simply "donated" it back to FARMS.

Your suspicions are unfounded and false.

[_Dr. Shades]

Thanks, Mister Scratch and Daniel Peterson, for your replies.

Mr. Scratch: Just to be sure I'm properly grasping things, if the 990 form had been more clearly labeled, e.g. "$20,000: Dept. of Asian & Near Eastern Languages, BYU, re. compensation for services of Daniel Peterson," as opposed to merely "$20,000: Daniel Peterson," would your opinion of all this be different?

[_Yoda]

As I've repeatedly explained to you, my salary was unchanged. I taught fewer classes but did more editing. My department hired me to teach classes, so it was only fair that its contribution to my salary be decreased with the decrease in course instruction. The Institute wanted me to edit texts, so it was only fair that it contribute a proportionate share of my salary. This was worked out between the Institute and my department.

And, as I have also pointed out, I was in a very similar situation with my department at the college I teach for a couple of years ago. My salary did not change, and I reported NOTHING different on my Income Tax.

As Jason has pointed out on other threads, this practice of "loaning" employees to other contractors/affiliates is common in the private sector as well.

[_Daniel Peterson]

Thanks, Liz. The process is, as you say, common, even routine.

In my own small Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages, for instance, there are typically several faculty members "on loan" to other campus entities -- e.g., as coördinator of the interdepartmental Asian Studies Program, as associate dean of Honors and General Education, as director of the National Middle East Languages Resource Center, as editor of the Middle Eastern Texts Initiative, as director of the Chinese Flagship Program, as dean of the College of Humanities, etc. -- which reimburse the department so that it can continue to offer the courses it's obliged to offer for its majors by hiring replacement teachers.

There's nothing "sneaky," "clandestine," corrupt, dishonest, untoward, or unusual about this.

Scartch isn't stupid. He's simply so laser-focused on portraying me as an unprincipled scoundrel that he'll use (or abuse) absolutely anything in his relentless campaign to malign and defame me.

Here are links to three of the undertakings mentioned above, all of which require the investment of considerable time:

http://www.nmelrc.org/

http://chineseflagship.BYU.edu/

http://meti.BYU.edu/ (badly in need of updating)

[_Mister Scratch]

Thanks, Mister Scratch and Daniel Peterson, for your replies.

Mr. Scratch: Just to be sure I'm properly grasping things, if the 990 form had been more clearly labeled, e.g. "$20,000: Dept. of Asian & Near Eastern Languages, BYU, re. compensation for services of Daniel Peterson," as opposed to merely "$20,000: Daniel Peterson," would your opinion of all this be different?

Yes, it would. As Liz points out, it is not terribly uncommon for money to "change hands," as it were, within a University. However, at the time of the 990 form in question, FARMS was not a part of BYU. And, just because Liz---or whomever---did not put the right information on the form does not make it kosher.

Furthermore, DCP and other apologists have denied up and down, over and over again, that they receive no money of any kind for apologetics. Once again: this just isn't true.

[_The Nehor]

Thanks, Mister Scratch and Daniel Peterson, for your replies.

Mr. Scratch: Just to be sure I'm properly grasping things, if the 990 form had been more clearly labeled, e.g. "$20,000: Dept. of Asian & Near Eastern Languages, BYU, re. compensation for services of Daniel Peterson," as opposed to merely "$20,000: Daniel Peterson," would your opinion of all this be different?

Yes, it would. As Liz points out, it is not terribly uncommon for money to "change hands," as it were, within a University. However, at the time of the 990 form in question, FARMS was not a part of BYU. And, just because Liz---or whomever---did not put the right information on the form does not make it kosher.

Furthermore, DCP and other apologists have denied up and down, over and over again, that they receive no money of any kind for apologetics. Once again: this just isn't true.

Then get your informants on the case. Surely with such a vast network one of your birdies does accounting. Dig up the form and point it out to the relevant tax authorities or admit that you've got nothing and have no idea what you are talking about.