Monday, May 31, 2010

Massachusetts Municipalities Tax Catholic Properties


Link to May 31 Boston Globe article, "Strapped towns tax Catholic properties. Church forced to pay for shuttered buildings".

Excerpt: Hundreds of thousands of dollars remain in dispute before the state Appellate Tax Board, where the archdiocese hopes to fend off tax collectors in Framingham, Natick, and Scituate, and where it is also challenging Revere’s decision to tax a convent that still houses a small number of nuns.

The tax disputes have come to a head at a time of financial duress for both the archdio cese and cities and towns.

Cuts in state aid have forced cities and towns to chop school budgets and scale back library hours. Many of the archdiocesan properties are tempting tax targets because they are expansive and in desirable areas of town, meaning their potential property values are high
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