Is it time for nonprofits to pay property taxes?

Wisconsin state statute (Section 70.11) lists about 40 categories of specific exemptions. They include not only churches and schools but also benevolent institutions, memorials, fire companies and cemeteries, to name a few.

Exempting many of these nonprofit institutions from income taxes makes some sense. But the same rationale does not apply to property taxes that pay for schools, local public safety and infrastructure costs for the benefit of all property owners, including nonprofits.

Tax-exempt institutions pay utility fees for their use of electricity and water. Shouldn’t a tax for their ownership of property be viewed in the same light?

To aggravate the situation, the trend in urban areas across the country is toward an increase in tax-exempt properties, commensurately shrinking the tax base. As of 2005, about one-third of the property in the city of Milwaukee was deemed to be tax-exempt.