New Jersey mayor calls nonprofits to pay more in taxes

In his state ofthe township speech, Lawrence, New Jersey Mayor Jim Kownacki suggested thecity’s weak budget is partially attributable to the fact that it loses $287million in property taxes because of local nonprofit property tax exemptions. However,Kownacki was quick to explain that he wasn’t trying to attack nonprofit organizationsand he acknowledged that nonprofits “do a lot of work for [the community] andhelp us in a lot of ways.”

Lawrenceofficials have asked the community’s nonprofit organizations for financial helpin the past by asking that the organizations donate a certain percentage of theproperty taxes they would owe if not for the exemption.

Does thisproposed collaboration between the public and nonprofit sector conflict withany of the justifications for the charitable tax exemption?

http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2013/05/lawrence_mayor_asks_nonprofits.html

dab