Original sentence: In the United States, The Watchtower and its companion Awake.Jehovah's Witnesses were told the purpose of this change was to "simplify our Bible education work and separate ourselves from those who commercialize religion.The Watchtower Society had filed an amicus curiae ("friend of the court") brief arguing that the sale of religious literature should be exempt from taxation.The sale of the magazines, and all Jehovah's Witnesses' literature, continued around the world until the early 1990s, and in some countries until early 2000.Two months earlier, on January 17, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled religious literature being sold was subject to taxation, which would have required the Watchtower Society to pay tax on the price of the magazines.were sold for a small charge until March 1, 1990, when they were made available at no cost, on a freewill donation basis
Edited sentence: " The sale of the magazines, and all Jehovah's Witnesses' literature, continued around the world until the early 1990s, and in some countries until the start of 2000.In the United States, distribution of Jehovah's Witnesses literature was then switched to a voluntary donation system.So, members were not told that this was to avoid taxes (   ), but rather that it was to "simplify our Bible education work and separate ourselves from those who commercialize religion.The Watchtower and Awake.The new rulings by the Court would have added tax collection and submission to the distribution process.were sold for a small charge in the United States until March 1, 1990, shortly after the Supreme Court of the United States ruled religious literature being sold was subject to taxation on January 17