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yortsed snacilbuper

(7,939 posts) Wed Jul 29, 2020, 11:57 AM Jul 2020

San Damiano Friary in Monona no longer exempt from property taxes

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is celebrating a victory for taxpayers very near its home that it played an educational role in.

The city of Monona (adjacent to FFRF’s headquarters in Madison, Wis.) had incorrectly classified a nearly 10-acre property on Lake Monona as being exempt from property taxes. Even though the property is generally referred to as the “San Damiano Friary,” it reportedly hadn’t been used for tax-exempt purposes since at least 2015. FFRF had protested this misclassification last December.

“Property that is exempt under Wis. Stat. § 70.11(4) must actually be used by the entity seeking an exemption,” FFRF Senior Counsel Patrick Elliott had written to Monona City Administrator Bryan Gadow and the official appraisers. “It is not enough for a religious organization to own the property, it must be ‘used exclusively’ by the organization.”

Wisconsin case law backed FFRF’s argument. In Dominican Nuns v. City of La Crosse, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals ruled that a church property that was being maintained but had been vacated by a religious order was taxable. Any claim to an exemption by the owner here was even worse than in the Dominican Nuns case, since the property was reportedly being rented to tenants, FFRF had added.

The city of Monona seems to have come around to FFRF’s perspective. The latest documents from the city’s assessing agency show that it is being appraised at just under $4 million, and the property owners could end up paying more than $80,000 in taxes annually.

“We’re glad we were able to help end yet another case of religious privilege,” says FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “Monona residents will no longer have to compensate for an entity not paying its taxes.”

https://ffrf.org/news/news-releases/item/37724-city-revokes-tax-exemption-after-ffrf-protests

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San Damiano Friary in Monona no longer exempt from property taxes (Original Post) yortsed snacilbuper Jul 2020 OP

Good news. I'm all for tax breaks sometimes, but only under extreme circumstances and only for a SWBTATTReg Jul 2020 #1

SWBTATTReg

(22,171 posts)

1. Good news. I'm all for tax breaks sometimes, but only under extreme circumstances and only for a

Reply to yortsed snacilbuper (Original post)

Wed Jul 29, 2020, 12:19 PM

Jul 2020

limited time. All entities I think share in using the roads, using public facilities such as water, sewer, the electric/gas/other utilities infrastructure, police and / or fire protection, schools and other public facilities such as libraries, parks, etc. Thus, I think all should pay their fair share. If in extreme cases tax exemption is granted, it should be due to an extreme situation and only temporary.

Period. Why wouldn't a religious organization want to help its neighbors, its communities, etc. by paying their fair share. I know some do.

This is an example of tax fraud. How many religious organizations exist solely to avoid taxes? How many preachers/pastors/etc.are 'fake' simply to avoid paying taxes on their income, or declaring as income any subsidized housing/transportation/other things such as an allowance/etc., paid for by the church / religious organization?

Now if the organization is truly an outstanding charity, and truly does contribute to the health and well being of the community, and offers up a daily soup kitchen, and other community like services, then an exemption is well earned (a temporary one, e.g., for 10 years, and renew unlimited times as needed every X number of years). Notice I didn't specify a 'religious organization' but an 'organization'. There are categories of businesses that can exist as non-profit under the IRS code (and probably most state tax codes).

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