HERO WORSHIP: Katie Holmes with Scientologist husband Tom Cruise

While thousands of businesses face higher tax bills from April and homeowners brace themselves for rises in council tax, the wealthy church will be exempt. The change is being forced by a Bill from Equality Minister Harriet Harman, which, for the first time, puts Scientology on the same footing as the Church of England and Roman Catholicism. Under British law, places of worship are exempt from business rates while homes of religious leaders receive council tax discounts. To qualify as a place of religious worship a building has to be used for worshipping a God or deity, not a philosophy. But the small print of the Equality Bill calls on councils to protect “any religious or philosophical belief” from local revenue raising while a new “public-sector equality duty” not only bans all authorities from discriminating against any philosophical belief but forces them to “advance equality” of those who hold philosophical beliefs.

This means the Church of Scientology will qualify for total exemption from business rates on premises open to the public while residential accommodation used by Scientologist chaplains would receive council tax discounts. Bob Neill, Shadow Minister for Local Government, said: “The public will be alarmed that Harriet Harman is planning to give local tax breaks to Scientologists. Struggling families and local firms will object to Scientology being able to avoid council tax and business rates, while their bills have gone through the roof. “Tolerance and freedom of expression are important British values but this does not mean that the likes of Scientology deserve special tax treatment.

“Like Labour’s so-called Human Rights Act, Ms Harman’s new law threatens to have unintended and unpalatable consequences.” The move will save the Church of Scientology tens of thousands of pounds in taxes from its bases and missions across the UK. As well as Saint Hill Manor in West Sussex, it has missions in Hove, Bournemouth, Tunbridge Wells, Eastbourne, York and Belfast. A spokesman for the church said it would welcome “any legislation that upholds the rights of people of all religious faiths, beliefs, races and cultures to be treated with equality”. The Church of Scientology, which has followers in Hollywood who include Tom Cruise and John Travolta, is based on the teachings of the science fiction writer, the late L Ron Hubbard. It claims to have eight million followers, with 7,900 churches, missions and groups in 164 countries.