logo
Donate
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Social Justice
    • Racial Justice
    • Climate Justice
    • Disability Justice
    • Economic Justice
    • Health Justice
    • Immigration
    • LGBTQ+
  • Civic News
  • Nonprofit Leadership
    • Board Governance
    • Equity-Centered Management
    • Finances
    • Fundraising
    • Human Resources
    • Organizational Culture
    • Philanthropy
    • Power Dynamics
    • Strategic Planning
    • Technology
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Leading Edge Membership
  • Newsletters
  • Webinars

Nonprofit Newswire | Taxman Wants to Collect from Church That Closed

Bruce S Trachtenberg
August 20, 2010

 

August 19, 2010; Source: Boston Globe | Tax collectors already have a reputation for being among the least popular people around. So a story from the Boston Globe isn’t going to do much to improve their image. The paper reports that the town of Whitman sent the local Baptist church the first tax bill it has ever received in 188 years.

While it’s bad enough that municipalities around the country are starting to tax formerly exempt groups, like religious institutions, to make up for recession-related shortfalls in revenues, what’s startling in this case is that the First Baptist Church of Whitman was forced to close a year ago because its congregation had shrunk and was no longer able to keep operating. In addition, the property has been on the market since its closing.

Sign up for our free newsletters

Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

Apparently Whitman tax collectors got their inspiration to send the church a quarterly tax bill for $2,473 from other Boston-area towns that similarly have begun taxing closed churches. The rationale? Because the church was no longer a church, its status—in the eyes of the tax men—had reverted to a taxable asset. Whitman Town Administrator Frank Lynam said, “Simple ownership by a tax-exempt organization isn’t enough. It’s about use. And the church is not being used for worship.’’

Whether this practice will be allowed to continue now falls to the he Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board to decide. The Archdiocese of Boston has filed appeals of tax bills sent to several closed churches. Meanwhile, church leaders are wrangling with Whitman officials over their bill, due the end of this month. There are a number of reasons they say the town should not tax the church, including a moral one. Said Edward Winnett, president of First Baptist Church of Whitman Inc., “We’ve donated many, many items to the town, and we even offered them right of first refusal on our building and waited seven months for them to make a decision.’’

Just last weekend the church donated its nearly 200-year-old 2-ton bronze bell to the community. “We also donated World War II flags and hundreds of pictures, stained glass windows from the early 1900s, and other artifacts,’’ Winnett said. “A lot of those items we could have sold.’’ Maybe the Golden Rule—to treat others according to how one would like others to treat one’s self—doesn’t apply to tax collectors.—Bruce Trachtenberg

Our Voices Are Our Power.

Journalism, nonprofits, and multiracial democracy are under attack. At NPQ, we fight back by sharing stories and essential insights from nonprofit leaders and workers—and we pay every contributor.

Can you help us protect nonprofit voices?

Your support keeps truth alive when it matters most.
Every single dollar makes a difference.

Donate now
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

You might also like
Liberation Stories: A Conversation with Shanelle Matthews and Marzena Zukowska
Steve Dubb, Shanelle Matthews and Marzena Zukowska
Using Narrative Power to Advance Liberation: Six Key Elements
Shanelle Matthews and Marzena Zukowska
Meet the Hidden Majority of Nonprofits: The All-Volunteer Organization
Jan Masaoka
Trump’s Authoritarian Spectacle: Corruption in US Governance and What Nonprofits Can Do About It
Zane McNeill
Report Uplifts New and Old Challenges Facing Nonprofits
Rebekah Barber
The Civic Bond: Friendship as Democracy’s Essential Thread
Venu Gupta

Upcoming Webinars

Group Created with Sketch.
June 26th, 2:00 pm ET

From Performance Management to Mutual Commitment

Fostering a Culture of Joyful Accountability

Register
Group Created with Sketch.
July 24th, 2:00 pm ET

Organizing in Divided Times

The Relational Infrastructure We Need to Protect Democracy

Register

    
You might also like
Conservatives Attack Nonprofits on Capitol Hill
Isaiah Thompson
Glass-paneled exterior of the Microsoft building.
Microsoft Axes Free 365 Software for Nonprofits
Isaiah Thompson
US Capitol Building
Tax Provision Would Give Trump Administration Unilateral...
Rebekah Barber and Isaiah Thompson

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

See our newsletters

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Copyright
  • Donate
  • Editorial Policy
  • Funders
  • Submissions

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.