August 26, 2010
To no one's credit, the parties have barely managed to make a federal case out of a dispute over $4,039.95 in property taxes on property owned by plaintiff Asbury United Methodist Church at 1818 Redfield Street, La Crosse WI 54601.
This was the amount of tax imposed for 2008, a year in which the property sat mostly unused as it transitioned from use as a tax-exempt parsonage to use as a tax-exempt "hospitality house" for family members and care givers referred by La Crosse hospitals and hospices. The church filed a claim in state court seeking a refund pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 74.35, on grounds that the 2008 tax violated Wisconsin law. As a religious association, the church also alleges that imposition of a tax for 2008 violates its right to freedom of religion under the First Amendment of the Constitution and Article I, section 18 of the Wisconsin Constitution.
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Source: Leagle.com, August 23, 2010
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