June 9, 2010 | Read Time: 1 minute
The Georgia Supreme Court this week heard arguments in a lawsuit to determine whether a suicide-prevention and counseling charity in Athens owes property tax—all because of the way the organization raises money.
The lawsuit is among several nationwide in which state and local governments, often strapped by shortfalls, are challenging charities’ exemption from property and other taxes or attempting to impose new fees.
In the Georgia case, county tax assessors argued that the group, Nici’s Space, should be required to pay property tax because it raises money by renting its premises for birthday parties and other private events. The group, the tax officials said, does not qualify for charity status because the fund-raising events are not open to the community at large.
The charity’s lawyer, Jim Warnes, countered that the charity does not owe property taxes under a 2007 statute that exempts charities from the tax as long as money they raise at their offices is used to fulfill their missions. The money raised by Nici’s, he said, about $100,000 annually, finances counseling for people who could not otherwise afford it.
The court may not rule for several months, but the case has attracted a good deal of attention in local newspapers, where citizens are making their opinions known.
The legal battle also caught the eye of the Georgia Center for Nonprofits, which represents 1,200 charities statewide. The center wrote an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to hear the case, after dueling decisions were issued in lower courts.
More information about the case is available on the charity’s Web site.
