Pa. Ruling on Jewish Group’s Camp Is a Potential ‘Game-Changer’ on Tax Rules

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s rejection last week of a nonprofit-owned youth camp’s tax exemption could have far-reaching implications for the state’s charities, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

By a 4-3 vote, the court ruled April 25 that the 61-acre property in Pike County is taxable, even though it belongs to Mesivtah Eitz Chaim of Bobov, a Brooklyn-based Orthodox Jewish nonprofit.

The majority opinion said the camp did not meet all the criteria to be considered a purely public charity as set out in a 1985 state Supreme Court ruling. The court essentially bypassed a 1997 law known as Act 55, which effectively broadened the definition of a public charity to stem a flurry of efforts to revoke tax exemptions that had been set off by the ’85 decision.

“This is a game-changer,” said Nicholas Cafardi, a nonprofit law expert at Duquesne University. “I have to think in these hard times when every municipality and school is stretched for resources, this opens the doors to challenges.”