Sunday, February 28, 2010
Looking for change under the sofa cushions
With so many states locked into a balanced budget by law, the search for new revenue is getting both desperate and creative. And it is going after what were once untouchable groups.
A bill before the Hawaii Legislature, for instance, would require charities to pay a 1 percent tax, and Kansas is considering making them subject to sales taxes.It's a shame that churches remain untouchable, a state like Virginia for example could easily balance its budget on the back of Pat Robertson's Empire. I can understand going after new revenue sources, but you have to go where the money is.
Revoking the nonprofit organizations’ exemptions from property taxes is also under scrutiny in several counties in Kansas, as well as in Pennsylvania.
And last fall, Minneapolis made charities subject to the fees it charges businesses and residents for streetlights in hope of gaining an additional $155,000, an exercise Jon Pratt, executive director of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, describes as “looking under the sofa cushions.”
In most cases, churches would be exempt from the tax measures, but all other nonprofit groups, including private schools and colleges, would be affected.
City and state officials say they have no choice.
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