Taxing Nonprofits Update

Even small towns are considering joining this effort to tax nonprofits, as this story from the Martha's Vineyard Gazette notes.

An excerpt.

“Mimi Davisson, chairman of the finance committee, said she too heard the grumbling, but she defended the work of her board. “We presented voters with a balanced budget, let’s not forget that. And that was the result of a lot of hard work, deep thought and public input,” Ms. Davisson said.

“She too was not surprised when voters rejected most of the override questions. “All you had to do was sit there for the first 30 minutes of town meeting to get an idea of the mood people were in. We knew it was possible the overrides could fail, so we took the attitude of: if they pass, that’s fine. If they fail, we will do without,” she said, adding:

“As a finance committee that’s the best you can do — give people options.”

“Looking ahead, Ms. Davisson said she would like to see the town explore a payment in lieu of taxes program for large nonprofit institutions located in town such as the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. She also said the town should look seriously into joining with other towns to regionalize services and departments.”