Expanding hospital presents questions for the tax assessor
   For years, county officials and residents have been concerned about the lack of property taxes paid by Great Plains Health hospital, as the hospital continues to acquire more property around the city.

   Great Plains Health enjoys a tax-exempt status because they operate as a non-profit. The exemption removes a significant amount of tax revenues that support public schools as well as city and county governments.

   Nebraska state law classifies and exempts from taxation property that is owned and used exclusively for educational, religious, charitable, or cemetery purposes, when such property is not owned or used for financial gain or profit. Read more

 

After Maui wildfires, opposition grows against vacation rentals
   Proposed legislation in Hawaii would reshape the way short-term rentals are regulated and allow counties to phase them out completely over time.
   Currently, 5.5 percent or 30,000 of Hawaii’s 557,000 total housing units operate as short-term rentals, according to the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization’s “Hawaii Housing Factbook,” published in June. Read more
 

No public access, so no tax break for $7.8 million island owned by religious group
   A religious group that owns an island in British Columbia, Canada, has lost its appeal of a decision denying a property-tax exemption on the island’s assessed value of $7.8 million.
   The Matsuri Foundation of Canada had sought the exemption from the Property Assessment Board for 12.5-hectare Knapp Island as a “place of public worship.”
   In the original decision last year, the board found the exemption did not apply because the foundation had not shown that the public was invited to or had access to the island, and that its primary use was therefore not public worship.
   The foundation had argued the exemption should be given “on fairness and equity grounds when compared to other similar properties in British Columbia, the judgment said. Read more

If you can buy a ‘mansion,’ you can pay a tax for affordable housing, these states say
   Washington state lawmakers last year dedicated a record $400 million to the state’s Housing Trust Fund, which distributes loans and grants to create affordable housing.
   But that was only a one-time infusion, said Democratic state Rep. April Berg.
   “What we heard from communities is that we need to know, year over year, that we can actually start doing projects and money will be flowing,” she said.
   To create a long-term revenue stream, Berg has proposed raising taxes on the most expensive real estate transactions, an increasing nationwide trend sometimes dubbed a “mansion tax.” Read more
 

Seattle property taxes rank in top 5 most expensive among big cities
   Everyone knows buying a home in Seattle is incredibly expensive. But keeping it isn’t cheap either.
   The tax burden for Seattle homeowners is among the highest for any large U.S. city. And along with home values, property taxes in Seattle have skyrocketed over the past decade.
   The median amount paid in property taxes by a homeowner in Seattle was more than $6,800 in 2022, according to the most recent census data. Among the 50 most populous U.S. cities, Seattle had the fifth highest median property tax bill. San Francisco was No. 1, at a little more than $9,000, followed by two other Bay Area cities, San Jose and Oakland. Austin, Texas, ranked fourth highest. Read more