A rally to support a state level fix to the property tax exemption issue for non-profits.
“Tent City” rally to highlight need to restore property-tax exemption for non-profit housing providers
An ad-hoc organization is planning a rally at the Wisconsin State Capitol’s King Street entrance on Tuesday, May 12th at Noon to highlight the need for state government to immediately restore the property-tax exemption for non-profit housing providers.
A recent court case last fall and a subsequent interpretation by the state’s Department of Revenue have changed which properties belonging to providers of affordable housing can continue to be property-tax exempt. As a result, municipalities all over Wisconsin are establishing procedures to assess properties owned and operated by non-profit housing providers and, in some cases, have already issued tax bills for several such property owners.
Unless the State Legislature and the Governor act to change the State Statutes, buildings that house thousands of low-income individuals and families will be subject to property taxation with possible devastating effects. “Right now, our budgets are stretched thin as they are,” said Dean Loumos, Executive Director of Housing Initiatives, Inc. of Madison. Housing Initiatives owns and operates 51 housing units for previously-homeless individuals and families who are affected by severe mental illness. Loumos added, “We have developed these properties under property-tax exemption rules that have been in place for decades. If the state doesn’t change them back to where they have been, we stand to receive a property tax bill of around $70,000. My agency and others like us cannot afford that kind of a hit. We would have to make some tough choices which may include reducing services and housing fewer clients.”
Housing Initiatives, Inc. is one of about 40 agencies operating in Madison alone that could be receiving property tax bills for nearly 1,700 housing units.
The main focus of the rally is to remind Governor Doyle, the State Legislature and municipalities around Wisconsin that during these tough economic conditions, where tent cities are starting to spring up around the nation as more and more people become homeless, they should not balance their budgets on the backs of thousands of low-income individuals and families who will be adversely affected and should instead act quickly to restore the property-tax exempt status.
For more information on Tuesday’s rally and the property-tax exemption issue, please contact Dean Loumos at (608) 332-2095.
