Holy Land exempt from property tax??
After reading Lisa's NYT article titled "Secular Laws Cede to Religious Exemptions," I came across an interesting passage that prompted me to do a little searching.
"In recent years, a church-run fitness center with a tanning bed and video arcade in Minnesota, a biblical theme park in Florida, a ministry's 1,800-acre training retreat, etc... have all been granted tax breaks by local officials, or when they balked, by the courts or state legislators."
And I'm thinking --- wait a minute! Shane and I just drove by said biblical theme park last weekend - I know that place... The Holy Land Experience. Ah yes, I've always wondered what delights a child could find in this mini Jerusalem right next to Disney and Universal Studios. Have you always wanted to see a musical version of the crucifixtion? If you answered - YES! - than you can start planning your next trip to Orlando.
Well apparently, The Holy Land Experience has gone through a very long and nasty legal battle to obtain some of these religious tax exemptions that Lisa's NYT article discussed. A BBC News article from July 2005 states:
"Despite its emphasis on entertainment, the Holy Land Experience has argued that it should be classed along with churches and museums and be exempt from property taxes. In her ruling, the judge said that it had not been proved that the Holy Land Experience was using its profits for anything other than "evangelising and worshipping". The Holy Land Experience was facing a demand for unpaid property taxes dating from 2001 that almost totalled $1m, a sum its lawyers argued would have forced the park to close down."
In addition to this report, further searching found an update to the situation in a recent Miami Herald article:
"The park scored a major victory this summer when Gov. Jeb Bush signed a bill granting a property-tax exemption to nonprofit organizations that display biblical manuscripts or that stage scenes from the Bible. Holy Land paid a team of lobbyists between $10,000 and $30,000 to push the legislation through, according to lobbyists' records."
Wow! The Holy Land Experience isn't messing around is it? I'd love to hear some opinions on this one.
"In recent years, a church-run fitness center with a tanning bed and video arcade in Minnesota, a biblical theme park in Florida, a ministry's 1,800-acre training retreat, etc... have all been granted tax breaks by local officials, or when they balked, by the courts or state legislators."
And I'm thinking --- wait a minute! Shane and I just drove by said biblical theme park last weekend - I know that place... The Holy Land Experience. Ah yes, I've always wondered what delights a child could find in this mini Jerusalem right next to Disney and Universal Studios. Have you always wanted to see a musical version of the crucifixtion? If you answered - YES! - than you can start planning your next trip to Orlando.
Well apparently, The Holy Land Experience has gone through a very long and nasty legal battle to obtain some of these religious tax exemptions that Lisa's NYT article discussed. A BBC News article from July 2005 states:
"Despite its emphasis on entertainment, the Holy Land Experience has argued that it should be classed along with churches and museums and be exempt from property taxes. In her ruling, the judge said that it had not been proved that the Holy Land Experience was using its profits for anything other than "evangelising and worshipping". The Holy Land Experience was facing a demand for unpaid property taxes dating from 2001 that almost totalled $1m, a sum its lawyers argued would have forced the park to close down."
In addition to this report, further searching found an update to the situation in a recent Miami Herald article:
"The park scored a major victory this summer when Gov. Jeb Bush signed a bill granting a property-tax exemption to nonprofit organizations that display biblical manuscripts or that stage scenes from the Bible. Holy Land paid a team of lobbyists between $10,000 and $30,000 to push the legislation through, according to lobbyists' records."
Wow! The Holy Land Experience isn't messing around is it? I'd love to hear some opinions on this one.
posted by Anonymous @ 12:53 PM
3 Comments:
At 2:41 PM, October 16, 2006,
austin said…
If an organization qualifies as a 501c3, all privileges associated are granted, including tax exemption. I think it should be more difficult to achieve this status, but in the current day, this is not happening.
After reading the Miami Herald article, Holy Land Experience seems like a religious entity. It is Bible study with visuals. So if a church builds replicas of religious land, is the church no more a religious entity. If you can prove your 501c3 status, the more power to you. The debate here is, is the status too easy to obtain?
At 2:49 PM, October 16, 2006,
Richard said…
I just happened to be traveling by the good ol' Holy Land theme park yesterday--and I must say I was tempted to go even if it was religiously inspired.
For those that want to challenge its tax status. Let me ask this...
I can totally see how the food isn't exactly enhancing the mission of educating about the "holy" land and biblical times. Should that possibly be subjected to UBIT (unrelated business income tax)?
I would argue strongly that it deserves the property tax exemption--who cares if its a theme park? That's one creative way to get people learning. Is it really that different from the kids/family oriented science museums, where they have all the play stations (not the video game systems) to make bubble walls, look inside a bee's nest, etc.
I certainly would find that much more fun than BibleWorld. Who's to say that's not a legit use of land for its mission...
At 3:56 PM, October 16, 2006,
Richard said…
How is charging admission different from tithing?
I'm not sure I see the difference. Again, selling hotdogs and Cokes... I say UBIT!
But, to me, it seems like a perfectly legit nonprofit.
I went over to Guidestar.org to check out the Holy Land Experience, and they are a 501(c)3 organization. In their 2004, 990 tax forms, they reported bringing in close to $8.7 million and spending $7.5 million on programs and services--an additional $1.8 million was spent on fundraising and management. They have assets of $16.8 million (at the end of 2004).
And just to show it's a good bit different than Disney and Universal, the CEO of Holy Land only brings in $51k/yr. Not hardly what I'd call excessive compensation.
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