Ministers appealing assessor's decision to end pastoral tax exemption

Carter County Assessor Kim Cain recently ended a controversial property tax break on ministers’ private residences that had been in effect for approximately 14 years –– but that hasn’t ended the controversy.

Two ministers, Cougan Collins, Lone Grove Church of Christ, and Terry Tolbert, Trinity Baptist Church, have appealed her decision with the county board of equalization.

Cain’s predecessor, Sam West, said he instituted the exemption when he was in office. West sought an opinion from then-District Attorney Fred Collins in 1994 before the exemption took effect. Collins’ opinion cited a case, Immanuel Baptist Church vs. Glass, where the Supreme Court exempted a church parsonage from taxation. A parsonage is a home owned by a church that is provided to a minister as part of his or her compensation package. The court also ruled that the property should be “used exclusively” for religious purposes.

In that particular case, Collins said the court determined the parsonage, which met certain other requirements, would be considered exempt from property taxes. Collins said whether a parsonage was exempt or not is “a factual determination.” West interpreted Collins’ opinion to mean that ministers’ private homes should also be tax exempt.
“It’s perfectly legal, and it’s supposed to stay that way until it is overturned by the Supreme Court,” West said Thursday.

Not everyone believes West’s determination was correct, especially since no other counties in the state offer a similar exemption. Commissioner Kevin Robinson and equalization board member Glenn Sappington encouraged Cain to revisit the issue.

“I don’t think it should have ever been done,” Robinson said. “If they sold the property, would they benefit from it or would the church?”

“What we want to do is follow the law,” Sappington said. “I just don’t see where there is any basis at all for private ownership securing the tax abatement.”
Cain said 32 pastors were granted the exemption last year.

“I can’t blame them for taking the exemption when it was offered to them,” she said. “But I had a lot of people question me why they were not paying taxes on the homes they owned and didn’t think it was right. I thought the best thing to do was get an Attorney General’s opinion on it.”

Cain, on behalf of the tax roll corrections board, asked District Attorney Craig Ladd to contact the state Attorney General for an opinion on the matter. In essence, she wanted to know should a residence solely owned by a full-time minister, and used on occasion for church-related functions, be exempt from property taxes?

Ladd issued his own opinion on Dec. 17, 2007, where he said “unless the residence is owned by a church, the pastor is full-time, and the residence is frequently used as a meeting place for various religious purposes, then Oklahoma law does NOT provide an exemption for ad valorem taxation for the residence.”

Assistant Attorney General David L. Kinney replied to Ladd’s request for an opinion on March 3, 2008, with a letter stating he could not issue an official opinion on the issue. Kinney, however, did cite the Oklahoma Constitution, which provides tax exemption for “all property used exclusively for religious and charitable purposes.” Kinney said the way the property is used (exclusively for religious purposes) is more important than who owns the property.

Cain interpreted Kinney’s response to mean a minister’s private property must be used exclusively for religious or charitable purposes to be tax exempt. She contacted county ministers by mail with her decision.

Collins and Tolbert are well within their rights to protest Cain’s decision and take it before the board of equalization. If either Cain or the ministers disagree with the board’s decision, they may file an appeal in district court. Collins is scheduled to meet with the equalization board in the county commissioners board room at 2 p.m. on Monday. Tolbert’s protest meeting will follow at 2:15 p.m.

Cain said her decision was based upon doing what is right.

“If the law was changed so their personal homes were exempted, I would have no problem with it,” she said.
Steve Biehn, 221-6546
steve.biehn@ardmoreite.com