Legal Developments

State Property Tax Exemptions for Church-Owned Property Continues to Be a Hotly-Contested Issue

Church Property

Richard R. Hammar, Attorney, CPA
Bio

A Seventh Day Adventist bookstore was ruled to be exempt under a Missouri law exempting property used for purely charitable purposes; a convent caretaker's residence was denied exemption under an Illinois statute exempting property used exclusively for religious purposes; and, a Buddhist temple was ruled to be exempt under a Tennessee statute exempting "religious institutions."

Cases from other jurisdictions are not necessarily relevant in a particular state, given the great variety in state property tax exemption statutes.

Missouri Conference Association of Seventh Day Adventists v. State Tax Commission, 727 S.W.2d 940 (Mo. App. 1987); Benedictine Sisters v. Department of Revenue, 508 N.E.2d 470 (Ill. App. 1987); Kopsombut-Myint Buddhist Center v. State Board of Equalization, 728 S.W.2d 327 (Tenn. App. 1987).

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