Churches were failed by the House yesterday in the session on Thursday, May 22. Senate bill 291, an act relative to the religious use of land property tax exemption, was a key vote that may not only cost NH churches their current tax freedoms, but may also worsen their tax burdens.
We originally supported SB 291, as it alleviated the unfair taxing of churches and enabled them to help solve the New Hampshire housing crisis. However, the bill was amended throughout the season to great extent and will now inadvertently curtail churches’ tax exemptions.
This is significantly harmful to our communities, because churches often provide for society through means such as church-led schools, shelters, food banks, and other charitable programs. Penalizing churches for providing these services deprives the surrounding community of opportunities and resources.
Local government and tax assessors are taking an increasingly aggressive, anti-church stance, claiming that only worship services and pastor compensation are “religious uses” that should be exempt from taxes. SB 291 will strengthen the assessors’ legal position by, for the first time, expressly associating the tax exemption with a narrow category of church spending.
If SB 291 becomes law, it will unprecedentedly and expressly interfere in church spending by requiring that certain church income be spent only on pastor compensation.
Passing this bill will immediately jeopardize the tax exemptions of multiple churches in our state and we will soon after see the effects.
We’d like to thank all the representatives who pulled SB 291 from the consent calendar before the vote yesterday. Despite the clear, strong opposition from some House members, the House voted “Ought to Pass” with the amendment that weakens church tax exemptions.
Now, SB 291 will be deliberated in a Committee of Conference, where final language to the law will be decided. Ask your legislators to oppose any version of the bill that would tie church tax exemption to how churches spend their income, or simply ask them to restore the original Senate version which was harmless to churches.
