The best response to the LED bill dispute comes from MJB over at the City Paper's comment board accompanying
their story today:
Compromise: Churches can post these signs after the churches pay property taxes.
I agree. If they want to compete in the real-world with hard-nosed for-profits, then they should be willing to give something up and play on equal footing. I haven't checked but I would assume that private companies pay sales taxes on their signage, while churches and schools as non-profits don't. If we're talking fairness, then I would like to know what's fair about that?
More than signage - if a church has a fire and expects the fire department to come, they should pay property taxes. If a church has a crime and expects the police to come, they should pay property taxes. If the church expects members to come for worship down nice city streets, they should pay property taxes.
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