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<DIV><FONT size=4><SPAN class=publicationdate><FONT size=3>Published - October,
20, 2006 <BR></DIV></FONT></SPAN>
<H1> </H1>
<H2>Hovind argues God's workers are exempt</H2>
<DIV id=byline><A href="mailto:AngelaFail@PensacolaNewsJournal.com"><IMG
src="http://cmsimg.pensacolanewsjournal.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/persbilde?Avis=DP&ID=55"
border=0></A><BR><BR><A
href="mailto:AngelaFail@PensacolaNewsJournal.com"><STRONG>Angela
Fail</STRONG><BR>@PensacolaNewsJournal.com</A><BR></DIV>
<DIV><!-- ARTICLE BODY TEXT --><!-- ARTICLE PARAGRAPH ITEMS --><SPAN
class=articlebody>A local Christian leader on Thursday testified against
Pensacola evangelist Kent Hovind, explaining the Bible does not condone tax
evasion.<BR><BR>Rebekah Horton, Pensacola Christian College's longtime senior
vice president, took the stand during the second day of testimony at the federal
trial.<BR><BR>Hovind, who calls himself "Dr. Dino," faces 58 charges. He is
accused of evading $473,818 in federal income, Social Security and Medicare
employee taxes at his Creation Science Evangelism Ministry, which includes
Dinosaur Adventure Land on North Palafox Street, a creationist theme park
dedicated to debunking evolution.<BR><BR>His wife, Jo, also is on trial, accused
of contributing to the fraud by making 45 bank transactions in a little more
than a year in an effort to make the money untraceable.<BR><BR>Hovind believes
he and his employees work for God, are paid by God and therefore aren't subject
to taxation.<BR><BR>But Horton said whether Hovind works for God is irrelevant
and the Bible does not exempt anyone from paying taxes.<BR><BR>"We know the
Scriptures do not promote (tax evasion)," she said. "It's against Scripture
teaching."<BR><BR>Horton first heard of Hovind's beliefs about taxes in the mid
1990s.<BR><BR>A woman gave Horton a videotape. The woman received it when she
worked for Hovind.<BR><BR>The video featured another evangelist advocating tax
evasion, Horton said. The woman told Horton of Hovind's philosophy on paying his
employees.<BR><BR>"She said, 'You were giving a gift with your work, and they
were giving a gift back to you,' " Horton said.<BR><BR>Horton said her first
concern was that the woman was breaking the law. Horton also testified she was
concerned about Pensacola Christian College students who worked at Hovind's
ministry.<BR><BR>"The day could come when you're going to be in trouble," she
told the woman. "Because Mr. Hovind is going to be in trouble."<BR><BR>Horton
believed it was the college's duty to report the misleading doctrine.
Administration called the Internal Revenue Service and gave the tape to
officials, she said.<BR><BR>"I didn't want to see innocent people get led
astray," she said.<BR><BR>Pensacola Christian College then decided its students
no longer were permitted to work with Creation Science Evangelism, Horton
said.<BR><BR>Hovind sent her a letter, she said, and then visited her
office.<BR><BR>On her desk, she kept note cards of Bible verses that
contradicted Hovind's stance on taxes, including Romans 13, which discusses
submission to authority and 1 Peter, Chapter 2, which refers to "submission to
rulers and masters," she said.<BR><BR>"I didn't get into a debate with him," she
said. "I just continued to refer to these verses."<BR><BR>Horton said she had
"no ill feelings" toward Hovind. She just doesn't agree with him on the tax
issue.<BR><BR>Defense attorney Alan Richey asked Horton if she had trouble with
Hovind on other issues.<BR><BR>"It's not my place to judge him," she
said.<BR><BR>The trial is scheduled to continue today at 8:30 a.m. before U.S.
District Judge Casey Rodgers. It is expected to take at least two weeks to
complete.</SPAN></DIV>
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<DIV><SPAN class=articlebody>
<DIV class=factbox><SPAN class=factboxheader>Other testimony
Thursday:</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class=factbox><SPAN class=factboxheader></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV class=factbox><SPAN class=factboxheader></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV class=insideboxpadder><SPAN class=factboxtext>Two former Creation Science
Evangelism employees discussed the inner workings of the ministry, explaining
Hovind's outlook on paying taxes and how he helped set up tax-free trust funds
for some employees. <BR><BR>Hovind's former neighbor testified about Hovind's
purchase of her Palafox Street home. She said Hovind paid her $30,000 in cash as
part of the $155,000 sale.<BR><BR>An AmSouth Bank employee explained how
Currency Transaction Reports work. She said any time a cash amount of $10,000 or
more is withdrawn or deposited, the bank must report it. She identified several
documents showing where Jo Hovind had made transactions up to $15,000 at a
time.</SPAN> </DIV></SPAN></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>