Brethren Home Community and Adams County officials settled a tax dispute last week in a process that started almost 10 years ago. The significance of this settlement is the differing stances that the Brethren Home took when determining which taxes that they would pay. Brethren Home argued that it is a nonprofit charity donating services and providing nursing-home care, appealed its tax assessment in 1998. The county declared a large portion of the site to be tax-exempt, however other parts of the property were not declared as such. As part of the settlement, the Brethren Home Community voluntarily will pay 50 percent of the value of certain improvements on its campus relating to cottages, apartments and other uses. The Brethren Home also will pay all taxes due on certain parcels traditionally thought of as non-exempt.While this post skims the surface of the issues, should developers take this aggressive approach to their taxation of their senior housing projects or will this be the constant battle between municipalities that want to attract businesses that will provide jobs such as senior caregivers and their desire to increase their tax rolls? While this decision has been outlined as a win-win compromise, it seems that the senior housing developer / operator got the upper hand.For more information on this taxing situation, click here.
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