[Vision2020] Tax abuse rampant in nonprofits

[Mark Seman]

Barbara,
Thanks for your response.  I have a couple more questions that maybe you (or
others) can help with.
Is Moscow's tax burden really heavier than "normal"?  It seems that we have
a very significant quantity of tax exemption (UI; LCCH; USPO; IDL; City,
County, Federal agencies; churches; and other non-profits) relative to our
population.  What would your guess be at a % or ratio of actual received
taxable vs. potential taxable (if everybody paid taxes) revenues?  Or
another way is: what % more is needed to be paid by the smaller group to
"make-up" for the whole not paying?

You are very right that there is a unique perception of what you pay for and
what you get.  People seem to want more than they are willing to pay for.
There seems to be a very high level of DIY / utilitarian characteristic
(maybe because of our area's significant agrarian/frontier heritage.)  How
do people begin to understand the value of paying for better life-cycle
costs and be willing to pay more as an investment for the future?  Are we
short-timers that don't care about the future and are incomes so depressed
that higher cost is not seen as investment, but rather extra expense?

Mark

Mark Seman, Architect
Heather Seman, Landscape Architect
1404 East 'F' Street  Moscow, Idaho 83843
v 208-883-3276 / f 208-883-0112



-----Original Message-----
From: Barbara Richardson Crouch [mailto:edc at moscow.com]
Sent: Thursday, April 07, 2005 1:26 PM
To: FCS at moscow.com; rforce at moscow.com; vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: RE: [Vision2020] Tax abuse rampant in nonprofits


Mark,

Many other communities in the US have universities or colleges that are
tax exempt and do not seem to have the perceived tax burder or problem
that Moscow has.  For example, Pocatello has ISU however, they also have
diversified their economy so that they are not overly dependent on ISU for
their economic base - and yes their tax rate is lower than ours.
Basically, a governmental budget is like any other budget - if you spend
more than you earn - there is a problem.  The people of Moscow may want
more services than they are willing to pay for - or allow development for -
 that will not be corrected by bringing in more revenues from taxing the
University or other governmental units.

Barbara

> I don't know how it could be accomplished, but I'd love to see all tax
> exemptions abolished and a proper distribution of the resulting tax
dollars.
> I have a sense that most tax exempt entities do not provide a comparable
> community benefit to offset tax "losses".  Even if a governmental agency
is
> taxing itself (State, County, Federal, UI, USPO, etc.) - I'd prefer to
have
> them taxed and the revenues distributed in a revamped system.  I'm
curious
> as to whether this would prove to be beneficial for a greater good or
just a
> shift of burden from current paying entities at the expense of current
> exempt entities.  Maybe Moscow is unique with its overly burdened tax
payer,
> but what would be the negatives that cancel the benefits of a more evenly
> distributed tax burden?  Perhaps an economist or others can weigh in on
this
> and provide me with better insight?
>
> Mark
>
> Mark Seman, Architect
> Heather Seman, Landscape Architect
> 1404 East 'F' Street  Moscow, Idaho 83843
> v 208-883-3276 / f 208-883-0112
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com
> [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com]On Behalf Of Ron Force
> Sent: Wednesday, April 06, 2005 3:09 PM
> To: vision2020 at moscow.com
> Subject: [Vision2020] Tax abuse rampant in nonprofits
>
>
> Tax Abuse Rampant in Nonprofits, IRS Says
>
> By Albert B. Crenshaw
> Washington Post Staff Writer
> Tuesday, April 5, 2005; Page E01
>
> ....Everson raised particular concerns about nonprofit hospitals and how
hard
> it is to distinguish them from for-profit hospitals; political activity
by
> nonprofits; misuse of entities set up to allow religious leaders to hold
> property and conduct business for the benefit of a religious
organization;
> and deals designed to allow members of a tribe to benefit from gambling
> revenue without owing taxes...
>
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26388-2005Apr4.html
>
>
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