Also, how long do you suppose it'll take for municipalities to look at churches, especially older ones on prime real estate, and decide that a better use would bring tax dollars instead of an exemption?
Someone on another thread said that churches were safe because of the first amendment and the free establishment clause.
I wouldn't bank on it.
Oh, it won't take long.
Churches, gun ranges, cherished neighborhoods with old style front porch homes, Civil War battlefields: anything and everything is now up for grabs, for practically any reason, if some real estate developer brother of a city councilman somewhere decides he likes what he sees, and wants it.
It is now his for the taking as long as the municipality can dredge up even the flimsiest of reasons why demolishing what's already there and building something else has even the slightest chance of "enhancing" the tax base.
I'm simply shocked at this ruling; it's a sad day for private property rights in this country.
St. Patrick's Cathedral on 5th Ave. NYC is looking like mighty fine income generating real estate right now.
I personally believe that there should be some kind of limitations on the number of churches allowed in a city. I live in a town that has very few businesses, many residential homes, and many, many many churches- all of which pay absolutely no tax. I know someone who worked for a church for years, lost his job, and had zero unemployment bennies because churches are not included in unemployment taxes or insurance.
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