[Vision2020] Doing Kai's work for him

[Michael Curley]

Ted and Kai:

As a  PS to my prior post to Kai, I would add:

I don't think the issues have anything to do with tax status.  In 
fact NSA is income tax exempt, but the building has been ruled to be 
taxable for Latah County property tax purposes.
Many uses are permitted downtown (and elsewhere in town) that are tax-
exempt.  The alternative high school is tax exempt.  Museums, art 
galleries, and public offices--all allowed downtown--might be tax 
exempt (from both income and property taxes).  
It doesn't matter where a tax exempt entity locates as far as taxes 
are concerned (except perhaps in the Research Technology Office 
zone).  If a public library occupies a $1 million building, it 
doesn't matter if it's downtown or somewhere else in the city that it 
is legally permitted.  The city "loses" (actually, just does not 
collect) the same amount of property tax either way.  The city does 
not receive any sales tax from any entity, nor of course, any income 
tax.

Again, I do not know what was in the heart of each Council member at 
the time the downtown zoning code was passed, but it makes sense to 
me that the distinction between commercial schools and other schools 
related to the "commercial" and personal service/retail nature of 
commercial schools rather than any tax exempt issue.

Mike Curley



On 23 May 2005 at 16:50, Tbertruss at aol.com wrote:

> 
> 
> Kai-
> 
> You didn't "fall off the turnip truck yesterday?" 
> 
> Kai wrote:
> 
>  ". The
> ONLY differences between the other schools and NSA are:
> 1. Mr. Leons and the massage school are "doing business" as schools.
> NSA is recognized as a school. 2. Mr. Leons and the massage school are
> "for profit" enterprises. NSA is not. 3. NSA is a religious school,
> the others aren't."
> 
> Kai, really now, you must think we fell off the turnip truck 
> yesterday!
> 
> The CBD is about doing "business" which usually means making money and
> paying property taxes that help pay for the infrastructure that
> supports such business. NSA is still tax exempt. Why is it so hard for
> you to understand that the zoning code is written to encourage the use
> of CBD properties for "business." You know, that bizarre
> cultural/economic activity that we in the USA worship, where customers
> enter a business on a daily basis with cash or credit and spend it? 
> 
> What if the Rajneeshes or a similar religiously oriented group bought
> a large chunk of downtown Moscow for use as a nonprofit school to
> promote communal bisexual extended families?
> 
> http://www.filmakers.com/indivs/Rajneeshpuram.htm
> 
> I think you'd find a different common sense approach to this 
> development. Ideological Indeed!
> 
> Ted Moffett
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>