Texas Southern Baptists Successfully Contest Denial of Tax-Exempt Status
by Allie Martin
January 12, 2006
(AgapePress) - - Officials in one Texas county have reversed an earlier decision and granted tax-exempt status to property serving as headquarters for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention (SBTC). It was nearly a year ago that officials with the SBTC applied for tax-exempt status for their property in the Tarrant County city of Grapevine. But upon reviewing their application, Tarrant County tax appraisers ruled that the property was taxable because its religious purpose was in question.
Mike Johnson is senior legal defense counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund, which took the case to court on the Southern Baptist group's behalf. He notes that on December 21, after nearly a year of litigation, the Tarrant Appraisal District and SBTC signed an agreed judgment granting both a revision of the tax appraisal roll and a property tax exemption for SBTC's headquarters in Grapevine, effective January 1.
Johnson says this is a significant victory that will help prevent government from wielding undue influence in church matters. "It's not the government's business to intrude upon religious organizations and start determining what types of activities inside a building are religious enough and what activities are not," he asserts. "That's not the government's role. They need to treat all religious organizations in a similar fashion."
The ADF attorney emphasizes that protecting the tax-exempt status of religious organizations is vital. "Unfortunately, local tax districts are becoming more and more greedy and they're looking for places to increase tax revenue," he points out. "It may be an unfortunate trend that they are looking to religious organizations to collect more dollars, so we have to be very vigilant about guarding the constitutional rights of religious organizations."
Johnson calls the outcome of the case a big win for religious liberty in the state of Texas. He says preserving religious organizations' tax-exempt status is key to maintaining their integrity as institutions independent from government influence.
Allie Martin, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
