Church's Suit Challenges Tax Decision Based On Project Gone Awry

In Panama City, Florida, the Faith Christian Family Church along with Markus Bishop, its owner and former pastor, filed suit last Monday against the Bay County Property Appraiser’s Office seeking to reverse a decision that restored three of the church's properties to the tax rolls. According to the Panama City News Herald, the dispute grows out of an innovative church project gone awry:

The church “wanted, as a form of religious and charitable outreach, to create a safe venue for young persons who might otherwise be endangered or tempted by the Spring Break revelry,” the complaint states. Faith Christian’s “intended concept was to offer a party-like but wholesome atmosphere, with music, food and non-alcoholic beverages. … Charitable outreach to persons who may be in need of a welcoming and safe refuge is a core religious principle of [Faith Christian’s] religious faith and practice.”

The complaint goes on to say that a promotion entity named Spring Break Amnesia was enlisted to market the outreach mission but “apparently had its own ideas for marketing and operation” by charging a $20 admission, selling sexually explicit merchandise and hosting naked paint parties and slumber-party Sundays.

For good measure, tax officials also revoked the non-profit status of a vacant lot next to the Life Center at which the spring break project took place, as well as the non-profit status of a mansion which the church claimed was a parsonage. The church claims that removing the properties' non-profit status infringed the church's First Amendment rights.

Oregon Tax Court Says Rectory Not Tax-Exempt

In St. Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church, Astoria v. Clatsop County Assessor, (OR Tax Ct., May 6, 2015), an Oregon Tax Court magistrate held that a residential structure located 1.5 miles from the church used as a church rectory did not qualify for a property tax exemption "because the evidence shows the rectory is not reasonably necessary to carry out the religious aims of the church..."  The court said in part:

Although [the parish priest] does write sermons and homilies at the rectory, those duties do not require close physical proximity to the church.... The other uses of the rectory have no direct connection to the church; they certainly do not require a rectory in close proximity to the church. There was generalized testimony about the availability of guest bedrooms for visiting priests, deacons, and seminarians, but no specific testimony or other evidence that such officials have stayed at the subject property and, if so, how many and how often they were there....

Forbes reports on the decision.

Neo-Pagan Group Gets NY Property Tax Exemption

In In the Matter of Maetreum of Cybele, Magna Mater, Inc., v. McCoy. (NY Ct. App., Nov. 18, 2014), New York's highest court, in a brief opinion, affirmed the decision of an appellate court that a neo-Pagan group is entitled to a tax exemption for property in the Town of Catskill that includes a 12-bedroom house, a caretaker's cottage, several outbuildings and an outdoor temple. The Court of Appeals said:

The Appellate Division properly granted the petitions. Petitioner adequately established its entitlement to the RPTL 420-a exemption, as the proof at the trial established that petitioner "exclusively" utilized the property in furtherance of its religious and charitable purposes.

(See prior related posting.) Courthouse News Service reports on the decision.

NY Top Court Hears Arguments Over Tax Exemption For Land of Pagan Group

Yesterday, the New York Court of Appeals-- the state's highest court-- heard oral arguments in Matter of Maetreum of Cybele, Magna Mater, Inc. v McCoy.  At issue is whether a neo-Pagan group is entitled to a tax exemption for a piece of property that includes a 12-bedroom house that was formerly an inn, a caretaker's cottage, several outbuildings and an outdoor temple.  The major disagreement is over whether the property is used primarily for religious purposes, as the state intermediate appellate court held (full text of opinion), or whether it is used primarily for residential purposes as the Town of Catskill and the trial court concluded. (See prior posting.) The Albany Times-Union reports on yesterday's arguments. A webcast of the oral arguments will be posted here by the Court next week.

Lutheran Affiliated Senior Housing Not Entitled To Property Tax Exemption

In Meridian Village Association v. Hamer, (IL App., March 28, 2014), an Illinois appeals court upheld the Illinois Department of Revenue's denial of a property tax exemption to a senior housing facility that was affiliate with Lutheran Senior Services.  It found that appellants had not shown their property is used exclusively for charitable purposes, nor is it used exclusively for religious purposes:

While the retirement community allows members of the Lutheran Church an opportunity to act out and evangelize their religion in the context of caring for seniors, the operation of the facility is not necessary to promote their religion, because that can be accomplished through other means. Other than caring for the elderly in a faith-inspired manner, there was little evidence of actual religious activity on the property.