Non-Profit Tax Status In Jeaopardy

A recent court ruling has put some nonprofits in jeopardy of losing their tax exempt status according to a spokeswoman from the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits. Marcia Avner said the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled last year that the Under the Rainbow Child Care Center should lose its property tax exempt status because the center charged full price for all its services. The court said the center should offer free or reduced rates in order to qualify as a nonprofit. Avner told a House committee if assessors enforce the ruling, many organizations could lose property tax exemptions and perhaps sales tax exemptions as well. Dilworth lawmaker Paul Marquart introduced a bill that would place a one-year moratorium on enforcing the ruling. A companion bill waits in the Senate Taxes Committee.