http://www.vosizneias.com/105661/2012/05/02/pennsylvania-court-towns-may-challenge-tax-exempt-of-nonprofits http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/item/37879-ruling-opens-door-for-cities-and-towns-in-pa-to-challenge-non-profits-tax-exempt-status Pennsylvania - Court: Towns May Challenge Tax Exempt of Bobov Mesivta CampPennsylvania - A ruling by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court may permit cities and towns in the commonwealth to challenge the tax-exempt status of nonprofit organizations. The ruling involves the Orthodox Jewish school’s summer camp of Mesivtah Eitz Chaim of Bobov, but its impact may be far-reaching. The court found most of the school’s 61-acre campus is taxable, and in doing so changed the criteria for deciding what qualifies as a public charity in Pennsylvania.
The new ruling effectively restores the narrower criteria for charity status. Duquesne law professor Nicholas Cafardi says that’s good news if you’re a mayor or school board president “It’s wonderful news, especially if you, as most municipalities and school districts in Pennsylvania, are looking for additional sources of revenue,” Cafardi said. Philadelphia officials say they plan to review the tax-exempt status of some of the city’s largest nonprofits in a wake of the state Supreme Court decision. The city used to get several million dollars a year from nonprofits.
http://law.justia.com/cases/pennsylvania/supreme-court/2012/16-map-2011.html
Mesivtah Eitz Chaim of Bobov, Inc. v. Pike Co. Bd. of Assessment AppealsAppellant Mesivtah Eitz Chaim of Bobov, Inc., a not-for-profit religious entity related to the Bobov Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn, appealed a Commonwealth Court ruling, asking that the Supreme Court find it is an "institution of a purely public charity" under Article VIII, sec. 2(a)(v) of the Pennsylvania Constitution, and entitled to exemption from real estate taxes. Appellant operated a summer camp in Pike County, Pennsylvania. Pike County denied Appellant's exemption request, finding that occasional use of Appellant's recreational and dining facilities by Pike County residents was insufficient to prove Appellant was a purely public charity. The Court allowed this appeal to determine if it must defer to the General Assembly's statutory definition of that term. Upon review, the Supreme Court affirmed, holding its prior jurisprudence set the constitutional minimum for exemption from taxes; the legislation may codify what was intended to be exempted, but it cannot lessen the constitutional minimums by broadening the definition of "purely public charity" in the statute. Untitled * id="doc_72588" name="doc_72588" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf" style="outline:none;" height="600" width="100%">
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