Court rules Christian radio station is a tax-exempt place of worship
A divided Ohio Supreme Court ruled in a 4-3 decision that a Gahanna radio station that plays Christian music does not have to pay property taxes because it is a place of “public worship.”
Justice Sharon L. Kennedy wrote that the property of WCVO (104.9 FM), owned by Christian Voice, “exhibits the essential qualities of a church,” and has “the necessary attributes of a church.”
The ruling overturned the tax commissioner’s finding that the radio station is decidedly not a church, but a commercial enterprise, with all of its property being dedicated to operation of the radio station.
The property is worth $1.7 million, with Christian Voice paying about $54,000 a year in property taxes, about $30,000 of which goes to Gahanna Jefferson schools.
Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor wrote the scathing dissenting opinion, calling the majority opinion “blatant activism.”
She openly wondered how the “broadcast of ‘adult contemporary Christian’ music mystically transforms its radio station into a tax-exempt house of worship,” noting that the public does not gather at the radio station for worship.
Regardless of the mental gymnastics required to rule in the majority’s opinion, the court has spoken, and it looks like Christian Voice will not have to pay taxes any longer.
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