Destiny Church has lodged a legal challenge against moves to deregister two of its 17 charities for failing to file annual reports.
On October 3, the Department of Internal Affairs announced the tax-free status of two Destiny Church charities was under review.
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"Following the department's standard practice, a notice of intention to remove from the register has been sent to two charities [Destiny International Trust and Te Hahi o Nga Matamua Holdings]," the department said.
Destiny Church had a deadline of 5pm Friday to comply. Rather than releasing the reports, it chose to respond with a legal challenge.
If both charities are deregistered Destiny could be up for a tax bill, as deregistered charities sometimes need to pay one-off tax on their accumulated assets.
The matter will now be referred to the independent charities registration board.
When the Department of Internal Affairs announced the review, Destiny Church pastor Hannah Tamaki said they would trust in Jesus for a good result.
"Our reactions need to be Christ," she said. "I choose to trust HIM no matter what... never give up.
"We are working on the audit... it can't be rushed... process is the process [sic]," she said.
Destiny says it is awaiting the completion of an audit before the legal challenge is lodged.
Newshub
