Facing public ire after the Florida legislature passed a bill forgiving $3.5 million in back taxes, Pensacola Christian College (PCC) has paid the money it technically no longer owed.
In January, the IRS ruled that the college's publishing arm was liable for taxes as a profit-making entity. A Beka Books, the country's largest publisher of Christian textbooks, is responsible for about 60 percent of the college's income.
Billed for back taxes, the college paid the initial federal tab, estimated at $44.5 million, but sought a waiver on Florida's corporate tax. When the tax-break legislation went into effect, Gov. Lawton Chiles received hundreds of letters contending the school was receiving a state subsidy.
In an advertisement in the Pensacola News Journal, PCC president and founder Arlin Horton said the school has borrowed money to pay back the taxes to "remove any question as to our Christian responsibility in the matter of back taxes."
Joel Mullenix, PCC's vice president for public affairs, says the money was paid "because it appeared some people were going to be offended, and we do not want to be an offense."
The 22-year-old college halted several construction projects as a result of the unexpected bills, Mullenix says.
Copyright © 1996 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
Last Updated: October 10, 1996
Have something to add about this? See something we missed? Share your feedback here.
Our digital archives are a work in progress. Let us know if corrections need to be made.
Annual & Monthly subscriptions available.
- Print & Digital Issues of CT magazine
- Complete access to every article on ChristianityToday.com
- Unlimited access to 65+ years of CT’s online archives
- Member-only special issues
- Learn more
More from this Issue
Read These Next
- TrendingAmerican Christians Should Stand with Israel under AttackWhile we pray for peace, we need moral clarity about this war.
- From the MagazineShould the Bible Sound Like the Language in the Streets?Controversy over Bibles in Jamaica, the Philippines, and Germany reveal the divide between the sacred and the relatable.
- Editor's PickDied: Michael Knott, Christian Alternative Musician Who Helped Launch Tooth & NailKnott wrote rock operas, sang with honesty and conviction, called out hypocrites, and bucked the norms of the Christian music industry.