BishopAccountability.org
	SF Vs. the Catholics, Round Two By Ryan Thomas Riddle San Francisco Guardian October 9, 2009 http://www.sfbg.com/blogs/politics/2009/10/sf_vs_the_catholics_round_two.html Today, as Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting and the Archdiocese of San Francisco continue their ongoing battle over millions in transfer tax revenue, witnesses on both sides are being called to testify in this high-stakes case. The two sides previously squared off on Tuesday, Oct. 6, when Ting got to present his side of the case before the Transfer Tax Review Board, countering church officials’ claims that their extensive 2008 property transfers doesn’t qualify for taxation. But the Assessor’s Office told the Guardian that it will take time before there is a resolution. At issue are the diocese’s transferred properties, valued at anywhere from $210 million to $1.25 billion. If that’s the case then the transfer tax revenue could fall somewhere between $3 and $15 million, and more could be collected in property taxes once the properties are reassessed. When the two sides faced off in June , sexual abuse lawsuits against the Catholic Church came up and questions were raised about how the land shuffle could be viewed as an attempt to keep assets from litigants. Attorneys for the church called the sexual abuse comments “irrelevant and a distraction.” At the other end of the issue, church supporters have stated that paying the transfer taxes could severely cripple the diocese, harming its various schools, churches, and church-run community programs. Yet other, more militant advocates could unintentionally be undermining whatever legitimate concerns Catholics might have over the transfer taxes. These advocates have taken to the Internet, making outrageous claims that this is the city’s retaliation for the passing of Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in California. “Some San Francisco residents and politicians are angry at the Catholic Church and other religious groups for supporting Proposition 8,” claimed a January 2009 catholic.org article written under the pseudonym of Secular Heretic. The article further attempts to suggest that Ting has a personal vendetta against the church because of his support of Prop. 8. An Internet search turns up dozens more stories from church-related websites all claiming the same thing. Meanwhile, church officials continue to contend that the properties don’t qualify for a transfer tax since they went from one interdenominational entity to another, thus making the transfers a “gift” under canon law. In a December 2007 statement, Archbishop George H. Niederauer had this to say: “The law is overwhelmingly in favor of the Archdiocese in holding that Church property ‘transfers’ of this nature are exempt from transfer taxes. The California legislature, courts, the State Board of Equalization and the Attorney General have repeatedly stated that religious corporations are merely permitted as a convenience to assist in the conduct of the temporalities of the Church – which is the real owner of Church property. Counties throughout the state have recognized this fact in connection with similar corporate reorganizations in other dioceses.” Archbishop Niederauer may be referring to a January 2009 California Supreme Court ruling that reaffirmed the national Episcopal Church’s ownership of local church buildings and properties. (Church officials have yet to return our call for comment.) Today’s hearings began at 10 a.m. and were scheduled to end around 2 p.m. The Assessor’s Office has promised to update the Guardian as soon as more information becomes available, so check back later for more info.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.