Churches Increasingly Hit With Property Tax For Unrelated Property

Today's Wall Street Journal reports that local governments are increasingly levying property taxes on churches, as religious organizations increasingly acquire property which they rent out or use for non-religious purposes. Examples range from a visitors center and gift shop built by a Newport, Rhode Island synagogue, to shopping center space rented out to stores and restaurants by a Rockford, Illinois church that owns the mall and uses part of it for worship services. Churches say that proceeds from properties are funneled back for religious uses. Generally, though, laws exempt property only if the property itself is used for religious or charitable purposes. Texas Tech law professor James Vaughn says: "When you have a taxing authority trying to decide what's your ministry and what's not, I see a problem here."