New London Tax Collector Ready To Sell Church For Back Taxes

Associated Press ^ | April 24, 2006 | Associated Press

[sirchtruth]

NEW LONDON, Conn. -- The city tax collector is ready to put a local church that has been in New London since 1835 on the auction block for payment of a $4,339 tax bill.

At issue is a bill sent out last July for property that the Second Congregational Church rents to the nonprofit Drop-In Learning Center.

[sirchtruth]

Interesting way of going after a tax exempt status...

[Andonius_99]

un-freakin'-believable...CT PING!

[texas booster]

Perry said the church created the situation, by failing to contest the tax bill it received last July.

"It seems so absurd," church moderator George Peteros said, that a church building assessed at $1.5 million could go to auction to recoup less than $5,000 in taxes.

The city maintains that any space not exclusively used for religious purposes, even if it generates no income, is taxable according to state law.

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The state law is wrong, however it may be written. Every church does community services and these are included in the mission of the church. Especially in New England, churches have always been used for education and community service.

The law needs clarification (if needed), and this civil overlord needs firing.

[untrained skeptic]

I don't know if the tax assessment itself is reasonable or not. A tax exempt organization leasing property to another organization might reasonable make that property taxable.

However, it sounds like the church simply ignored the bill rather than contesting it. I imagine it happened out of confusion rather than as a protest against the assessment.

The church needed to fight the assessment or pay it. They can't just ignore it.

This mess makes for sensational headlines, especially since it New London, however this really seems more of a way for the city to force the church to address this issue.

The church isn't going to get sold to pay this tiny sum unless they continue to ignore their responsibility to address the issue. It doesn't sound like that's the case.

However, they may have to pay that tax assessment and the accompanying fines and fees immediately since they neglected to address this, and then fight the issue of the future status in court.

[absolootezer0]

they take people's homes, why wouldn't they take away churches?

[Publius6961]

BUMP!

[correctthought]

New London: Becasue Kelo was just not enough.

[untrained skeptic]

The state law is wrong, however it may be written. Every church does community services and these are included in the mission of the church. Especially in New England, churches have always been used for education and community service.

The law needs clarification (if needed), and this civil overlord needs firing.

I think our nation's whole system of taxation at federal, state, and local levels needs overhauled.

Tax exempt status is a double edged sword. With our high tax burden churches and other nonprofit organizations that benefit society would have a difficult time surviving without that status. However at the same time the government uses the threat of losing that status to restrict those organizations.

The threat of losing tax exempt status gives the government way to much power over churches. However, I don't really have a solution to the problem.

[nutmeg]

OMG... This is outrageous! What's next in Connecticut?

Thanks for the heads up... I'll ping the CT list in a few minutes.

[nutmeg]

Connecticut ping! (Thanks, Andonius_99)

Please Freepmail me if you want on or off my infrequent Connecticut ping list.