[Vision2020] Two Up, Two down for Church in Moscow

[Tom Hansen]

>From today's (July 12, 2005) Moscow-Pullman Daily News -

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Two up, two down for church in Moscow; Latah Board of Equalization rules
Zumé, Anselm House are taxable

By Megan Doyle, Daily News staff writer

Latah County commissioners kept wishing they had guidance from the Idaho
Board of Tax Appeals Monday as they made decisions on the 2005 tax-exempt
status of four religious-based organizations.  Acting as the Board of
Equalization, the commissioners made their decisions on the last day of BOE
hearings. 

Anselm House, operated by Moscow's Christ Church, will remain taxable. The
south parcel of New Saint Andrews College will be tax exempt. The north
parcel of the college, which houses Zumé Cafe and Bakery, will be taxable.
Community Christian Ministries, which operates the Nuart Theatre, will be
tax exempt. All three parcels of Faith Ministries, which operates Logos
School, also will be tax exempt. 

"I'm really glad that they upheld the decision they made last year on Anselm
House," said Rosemary Huskey who, along with Saundra Lund, has argued
against allowing tax-exempt status for each of the entities. Huskey and Lund
are Moscow area residents. 

Doug Wilson, pastor of Christ Church, voiced the opposite reaction. 

"Of course, on a practical level, I'm grateful for the decisions on Nuart
and Logos School," he said. 

"For the rest of it, I just can't make sense of it." 

Wilson said he doesn't understand why some properties were granted the
exemption while others were not, when similar arguments were made for each
property. 

The women plan to appeal to the Idaho Board of Tax Appeals on the parcels or
properties the commissioners decided were tax exempt. 

Christ Church and New Saint Andrews filed a request for tax-exempt status
for the 2005 tax year, as they had for the previous year. 

Huskey and Lund protested last year's decision, stating the properties did
not meet the exclusive-use requirement of the state code. The commissioners
later agreed. 

The issue was appealed by the entities to the Idaho Board of Tax Appeals,
but because two of the three board members recused themselves, no decision
was made and the county's ruling was upheld. 

New St. Andrews College and Christ Church continue to argue for the tax
exemptions on the parcels the board of equalization declared taxable in the
2004 tax year. Their case will be scheduled to be presented in District
Court. 

Because the appeal is in process, Wilson said he believes an additional
appeal for 2005 will not need to be made. The decision made by the higher
authority also will affect the 2005 year. 

Huskey and Lund did not continue their appeals. 

"I think the information we received this year was quite similar to what we
received last year," Commissioner Jack Nelson said of Christ Church and New
Saint Andrews. 

Both Nelson and Commissioner Tom Stroschein agreed they would have liked a
decision from the IBTA about the exclusive-use question and will be writing
a letter urging the board for guidance. 

"I certainly don't have any other choice but to make the same decision I
made a year ago," Stroschein said. 

When the issues were discussed last year, apportionment was suggested for
the properties that house both for-profit and nonprofit operations.
Apportionment would allow a percentage of the properties to be tax-exempt. 

"I would say case law surely supports apportionment," said Roy Atwood,
president of New Saint Andrews College. 

He said the Board of Trustees of the college will decide later whether to
appeal the commissioners' decision about the north side of the property. 

Huskey and Lund plan to continue their argument against allowing
apportionment. 

Because the IBTA did not make a decision last year, the issue remains
unresolved and the situation is getting worse as more properties have
similar tax-exemption questions. 

Atwood said the women are being selective and discriminatory against the
college based on its religious affiliation. 

"I've said many times this is not about religious persecution. It's about
abiding (by) the law," Huskey said. 

Commissioners decided to grant tax exemption status to CCM because they said
it acts as a religious or charitable organization where no one individual
profits from its operations. 

At the hearing, CCM executive director Jim Wilson argued the retail snack
bar is intended to be a place where people can meet and discuss
religious-based topics. The commissioners, based on Wilson's testimony, came
to the conclusion the retail portion operates at cost or for less, like a
charitable organization, and should be tax exempt. 

Lund said she was flabbergasted by the decision. Although discussed at the
hearing last week, operation of Atlas School on the property was not made a
part of the commissioners' deliberations Monday. She believes the school to
be a private, for-profit institution. 

"I think they just forgot," Lund said. 

The commissioners took their time in debating whether to grant the
exemptions to all three parcels of Faith Ministries. The discussion centered
on some of the property being rented to for-profit organizations. In the
end, all three were granted tax-exempt status. 

Huskey and Lund said they are looking forward to the appeal process on all
the properties the commissioners granted tax exempt status to. 

"We won't stop this time," Lund said.

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Take care, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

“I think one of the best ways to support education is to make successful
private schools like Logos prosper through tax exemption.”

- Donovan Arnold (July 11, 2005)