From the PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE:
…The court ruled that, although the camp is owned by a religious organization, most of the 61-acre spread is taxable because it did not meet all of the criteria previously established for charities in Pennsylvania and, as a result, it did not qualify as a purely public charity.
While some experts and parties involved in the case weren’t sure if the ruling would mean a return to the 1980s and 1990s when the tax-exempt status of charities — particularly hospitals — was regularly challenged by local governments, others said the impact is obvious.
“This is a game-changer,” said Nicholas Cafardi, dean emeritus and professor at Duquesne University’s Law School and an expert on charity law. “I have to think in these hard times when every municipality and school is stretched for resources, this opens the doors to challenges.”
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EDITOR: If indeed Lancaster General Hospital were required to pay real estate taxes, it would channel the ‘Public Charity’s] nearly $100 million a year profits from dubious LGH expenditures to meet the education and health and safety needs of city and county.
