One of my readers sent this link to me. The article describes the use of a driveway fee (measured by estimated number of vehicle transits) to get around state property tax exemptions for churches. Apparently the instance described is not the first time this has been tried. This is new to me. It's from almost a year ago, but I don't recall seeing any discussion about it on this list but perhaps I missed it. Comments welcome.
http://www.charismamag.com/index.php/news-old/29819-kansas-town-tries-to-tax-church Kansas Town Tries to Tax Church Attendance <http://www.charismamag.com/index.php/news-old/29819-kansas-town-tries-to-tax-church-attendance> Wednesday, 22 December 2010 07:03 AM EST Jennifer LeClaire News <http://www.charismamag.com/index.php/component/content/section/34> - Featured News <http://www.charismamag.com/index.php/news-old> The Kansas City of Mission is working to make sure churches in its area understand that there are two things certain in life: death and taxes-even in the sanctuary. Mission implemented a property tax in the name of a "driveway fee" in efforts to evade having to grant tax exemptions to two local churches, according to the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF). ADF filed a suit on behalf of the churches, First Baptist Church of Mission and The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. [rest of article omitted]
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