Kansas YMCAs Decry State Bill to Impose Property Taxes

The heads of YMCA organizations in Kansas testified at a state House hearing Tuesday that legislation to withdraw their exemption from property taxes would significantly curtail their services or potentially shut them down, the Topeka Capital-Journal writes.

The bill would impose property taxes on nonprofit social-service groups that derive more than 40 percent of their revenue from membership sales. The Kansas House Taxation Committee is simultaneously weighing a Senate bill to provide tax breaks for commercial fitness clubs, casting a spotlight on the finances of YMCAs that compete with them.

Committee members peppered Dennis Schoenebeck, head of the Greater Wichita YMCA, with questions about executive pay, facilities expansions, and a $16-million surplus the charity reported in 2011 tax filings. Mr. Schoenebeck said the tax measure would cost his group $5-million to $6-million a year and that calls to level the competitive playing field ignored the diverse missions of commercial and nonprofit gyms, which offer services to low-income children and families.