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Maybe its is time we start eliminating or limiting property tax exemptions for businesses that have been exempt.
Religious
Charity
Hospital
Fraternity
Labor Temple
Medical Research
TheatreExamples of ones to eliminate would be Churches who are renting out real estate for profit, churches who shelter criminals, or charities where salaries are out of line, etc.
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GTO Man wrote:
Quote:Maybe its is time we start eliminating or limiting property tax exemptions for businesses that have been exempt.Religious
Charity
Hospital
Fraternity
Labor Temple
Medical Research
TheatreExamples of ones to eliminate would be Churches who are renting out real estate for profit, churches who shelter criminals, or charities where salaries are out of line, etc.
I see absolutely no reason any of the above listed should be exempt from property taxes. Of course, hospitals and medical research centers will piss and moan, thus wanting to raise already high health care costs. There would need to be some compromise with them so they wouldn’t put the costs on the backside of the taxpayer. Fraternities should pay property taxes, no exemptions. Churches, or any place of worship, should pay also. There’s a reason they pass the offering plate around at each service, an extra dollar out of each worshiper wouldn’t hurt. And would someone explain to me why a theatre isn’t paying property taxes?? For what they charge to go to a movie, or a show, they can pay property taxes.
For any entity to be tax exempt their salaries need to be scrutinized closely. Many of the entities listed would not meet that scrutiny. The head of a tax exempt entity should not make anywhere near the salary of the CEO of a corporation(who obviously are making much more than they are worth). I am talking about public corporations, not privately owned.
Examples from Milwaukee County
The tax exempt status of churches dates back quite a bit. It would be hard to change the status quo. I do believe that big mega churches that have thousands of members should pay some kind of tax. It’s only right. Charities that use over 40% of their contributions to pay their boards and CEOs should be taxed. United Way uses up over 75% of what they take to just run the charity. The local clothing and food bank is more apt to use all donations for what they were intended.
I am just guessing here, but I would suspect that the small, local food banks should also be tax exempt. I suspect that none of the staff are paid and that the workers are volunteers. In these tough times, there is a great need for the smaller, local food pantries and food banks. We don’t want to hamper the good works that they do. Taxing them would be like taking the food out of the mouths of hungry people.
I have gone out of my way not to donate to the United Way for this, and for other reasons. Think about it, seventy-five cents out of every dollar goes to the CEO, staff, and operating expenses. Only twenty-five percent of what one donates actually gets to the people who need assistance.
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