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Taxing churches? NO, but applying FEES |
Cojak |
I am just curious because I have never heard of this before. Bro. Lynn at the Lady Lake COG announced this morning that the church needed $2700 to pay Lake County for Fire fighting Fees.
This not taxes, since the church is tax exempt. But I have never heard of it before. Have any pastors here ran into this sort of charge before? _________________ Some facts but mostly just my opinion!
jacsher@aol.com
http://shipslog-jack.blogspot.com/ |
01000001 01100011 01110100 01110011 Posts: 24269 12/3/17 11:41 pm
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In some states ... |
Mat |
Some states (like South Carolina where I'm at) there is a annual "services" fee. Ours comes from the water/sewage/trash department (of course we pay for water and trash pickup in our monthly bill). Unless its changed, when I was a California pastor we paid taxes on the parsonage (perhaps because it was not on the same property as the church). Also, at that time if you used the church kitchen for cooking food to raise funds, they city wanted you to have a "resale" license and wanted to tax the square footage of the kitchen. I'm not sure if any churches complied with this. More and more municipalities are making it hard to build churches due to loss of property tax revenues and/or demanding street improvements to accommodated the increased traffic and sewage resulting from the church. My sister's local church in Riverside, CA, is in an older, poorer neighborhood. The church has been committed to ministering in the neighborhood, which the city has recognized and honored, but when it come to expanding the church to connect to the next street over (in addition to the current street) the city wants the church to pay for improvements up and down the block (wider street, sidewalks, sewer and storm water). That cost would dwarf the cost of the expansion and has them thinking about moving the church.
Mat |
Acts Enthusiast Posts: 1972 12/4/17 7:48 am
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get use to it |
wayne |
In Boone County Kentucky, there is a road usage fee for churches. |
Acts Enthusiast Posts: 1274 12/4/17 8:46 am
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In NC the state and counties have gone after churches |
brotherjames |
Over the last few years as a way to raise income. There are so many churches that the state sees them as a new revenue stream. The mere fact that a tax exempt church has the deed to land and buildings no longer means they don't pay taxes on it. Every year you must file for the exemption and we have been challenged several times to prove that we dont just own the land but are using every inch of it in a tax exempt way. Our main campus has 12 acres of which we actively use 5. In order to exempt the other 7 we have to be creative and say the other areas are for prayer trails, buffer and green space and other things otherwise we will pay huge taxes. We also own 65 acres which we1 are getting ready to build upon and we coild only prove usage on 12 so we pay taxes eacwh year of over 15000$ on the other 50. In Ohio if the land was deeded to a church it was all tax exempt. |
Acts-celerater Posts: 935 12/4/17 9:26 am
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Cojak |
Boy, I guess I am learning something. I will check our home church in North CArolina to see what they pay. Many years ago when I pastored as long as the deed was owned by a church there was no extra costs. Water, elec, sewer were the only expenses naturally. _________________ Some facts but mostly just my opinion!
jacsher@aol.com
http://shipslog-jack.blogspot.com/ |
01000001 01100011 01110100 01110011 Posts: 24269 12/4/17 4:33 pm
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Mat |
Cojak wrote: | Boy, I guess I am learning something. I will check our home church in North CArolina to see what they pay. Many years ago when I pastored as long as the deed was owned by a church there was no extra costs. Water, elec, sewer were the only expenses naturally. |
And then there is insurance - along the coast you add flood insurance - and don't forget background checks (and their cost) or your insurance is higher.
If you build it, you will have to maintain it!
Mat |
Acts Enthusiast Posts: 1972 12/4/17 5:38 pm
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