Over the last two or three years there has been increasing scrutiny from the State of Vermont on non-profits.  The State now requires all property owned by non-profits to be included on the Town grand lists.  To that end, non-profits must file forms with insurance replacement value estimates annually on April 1st.  (What do you think the replacement value of Pratt Hall is?  We think it’s irreplaceable.)

     Statutory changes established property tax exemption categories but there was not a clear exemption for organizations like ours.   The State Tax Department eventually advised our local Listers that Society property was exempt under the section for "public, pious and charitable" organizations after we provided copies of our bylaws.  Phew! 

     Ominously the State revised the law this year and eliminated the exemption category for fraternities and sororities meaning they now must pay property taxes.   You may have seen or read about their ongoing appeal.  If our Society ever loses this exemption it would be an existential crisis.  It could take well over 50% of our normal annual revenue, which is mostly membership donations, just to pay our property taxes.

     In another twist, the Vermont League of Cities and Towns (VLCT), the principal lobbying organization for VT municipalities, recently urged law makers to extend the Open Meeting law, and laws related to records accessibility and retention, to non-profits.  The mayor of Burlington reasoned that since non-profits get tax breaks they should follow the same rules as governmental organizations so people know how they are running things and spending their money.   While this sounds good in theory the practical impact would make it incredibly hard to do business, specially for small organizations without any staff.  Everything from quorum rules to restrictions on email would come into play.  To its credit, the legislature has given the idea a cool reception.

     To be clear, the Society has both Federal and State exemption status. We pay no income or property taxes.  This enables us to serve our community.  Our bylaws forbid us to lobby as an organization for legislation, or engage in other political activities, like elections, otherwise we could jeopardize our tax exempt status.   As individuals we can all let our representatives know how we feel though.

                                                                                                                            thanks for your support,  Scott