[Vision2020] Doing Kai's work for him

[tbertruss at aol.com]

Mike et. al.
 
Thanks for your clarification about property taxation in Moscow.  Perhaps the tax exempt status of NSA is a separate legal issue from the CBD zoning code.  But nonetheless I know of property tax paying citizens in Moscow who view the expansion of tax exempt entities in the downtown core, which does feature some rather expensive property (for Moscow), as a cause for concern.  The expansion of such entities means other property tax paying citizens in effect pay for certain publicly funded services that the tax exempt entities are not paying for.  
 
I think the logic of this involves the idea that a tax exempt entity is doing some "good" for the community that somehow offsets the fact they are not paying property tax.  You listed museums, art galleries and public offices.  There may be disagreement on the "good" some of these entities do that justifies their tax exemption, but the assumption is made they are doing a "good" which offsets the fact they are not paying property tax.  
 
The tax exempt status of religious entities has traditionally been viewed, I think, with this kind of logic in mind.  Religion is not a profit oriented business, but an institution that provides for an important human need, thus the tax exemption.  Of course the tax exempt status of many churches in the USA is very controversial with the political activism inherent in their conduct, political activity which is not supposed to be happening with the granting of their tax exemption as a religious entity.
 
If you have studied this issue, you know that in some cities in the USA there have been restrictions placed upon how much property can be placed into tax exempt status due to association with a religion.  I think in part this is just simple economics.  The cities cannot afford to place a large bulk of valuable property into a property tax exempt status.
 
Moscow may not have had to face such a problem, but we do not know the future.
 
Thanks for your input.
 
Ted Moffett
 
-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Curley <curley at turbonet.com>
To: editor at lataheagle.com; vision2020 at moscow.com; Tbertruss at aol.com
Sent: Mon, 23 May 2005 14:20:32 -0700
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Doing Kai's work for him


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
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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