Jonathan Browher

To the Members of the Committee: As a beneficiary of and volunteer for many local nonprofits, I am concerned about the substantial impacts of HB 1293 proposing to tax property of nonprofits above $1 million. The buildings used by nonprofits are current-use, often serving critical purposes to our community. With the $1million number, the nonprofits that are positioned to have the most impact to their communities will be most outsized in the impact. Museums and historic estates, which are governed by bylaws and endowments which preserve them in perpetuity, and which are often operating on very slim margins, would be forced under the circumstances of their reduced finances to make operational and staff cuts. Nonprofit community daycares and youth centers, again disproportionately impacted given their size, would be faced with impossible funding decisions at a time when we are in a childcare crisis. It is unclear what this would mean for endowments. Donors often restrict funds to the operations/needs of the nonprofit. Would the burden of property taxes violate and go against the wishes of donors and endowments? The liability and conflict with existing law proposed by this legislation alone is enough to raise serious questions. Further, nonprofit real estate simply cannot be treated the same as taxes on private property. They are subject to restrictions on sale and use of assets, and are less likely to be sold and the profit realized - and never for personal profit, but only in alignment with, and to further support, the mission of the organization. Is a historic property, a daycare, or a community center the same as a condo or primary residence? I urge you to deem HB 1293 inexpedient to legislate.