Request By:
Reverend Byron Jessup
Minister, Revival Tabernacle
1820 Versailles Road
Lexington, Kentucky 40504
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Rodney V. Tapp, Assistant Attorney General
Please refer to your recent letter to the Office of the Attorney General in which you ask about the tax status of church property in this commonwealth. You indicated in your letter that the Revival Tabernacle has recently purchased property adjacent to your tabernacle for use as a parking area. Furthermore, the Property Evaluation Administrator for Fayette County has recently sent you a tax billing for the property.
At the outset, we direct your attention to Section 170 of the Kentucky Constitution which provides in pertinent part as follows:
"There shall be exempt from taxation public property used for public purposes; places actually used for religious worship, with the grounds attached thereto and used and appurtenant to the house of worship, not exceeding one-half acre in cities or towns, and not exceeding two acres in the country . . . all parsonages or residences owned by any religious society, and occupied as a home, and for no other purpose, by the minister of any religion, with not exceeding one-half acre of ground in towns and cities and two acres of ground in the country appurtenant thereto . . . and all laws exempting or committing property from taxation other than the property above mentioned shall be void."
The Supreme Court of Kentucky in the case of Mordecai F. Ham Evangelistic Association v. Matthews, 300 Ky. 402, 189 S.W.2d 524, 526 (1945), spoke about this exemption provision as follows:
"It is of interest to note that the preamble of the Constitution of Kentucky, like that of most every other state, contains or consists of a prayer of gratitude and invocation for our political and civil blessings. Notwithstanding all this, and the immeasurable benefit of religion to the structure of society, even in the temporal way, there is no inherent immunity in the church from liability for the support of the government. Indeed, that obligation finds sanction in the biblical injunction that every citizen should, 'Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's,' the statement having special reference to the payment of taxes. Immunity or exemption must come from an express waiver of the sovereign. In Kentucky the waiver relating to charitable institutions, as it is educational, is very broad and liberal, but in respect to the church it is narrow and strict, as recently pointed out in City of Louisville v. Presbyterian Orphans Home Society, 299 Ky. 566, 186 S.W.2d 194. The waiver relating to churches or religious societies is limited to 'places actually used for religious worship, with the grounds attached thereto and used and appurtenant to the house of worship, ' limited as to area, and 'all parsonages or residences owned by any religious society, and occupied as a home, and for no other purpose, by the minister of any religion, ' also limited as to area. Section 170, Kentucky Constitution."
Moreover, according to Opinion of the Attorney General No. 68-113 the above-mentioned constitutional provision does not exempt from property taxation property owned by the church and used as a parking lot in excess of the acre limitations. We feel this opinion continues to accurately reflect the tax status of church-owned property. We have enclosed herewith a photocopy of that opinion for your review.
Pursuant to Section 132.190 of the Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS), contiguous church property in excess of the constitutional limitations would be subject to taxation for state purposes as real property not exempted from taxation by the constitution. Similarly, under KRS 92.290, the legislative body of each city of the second to the sixth class shall provide for the assessment of all real property within the corporate limits that is subject to taxation for city purposes. KRS 67A.850 provides that the Fayette Urban-County Government may exercise the taxing powers of a second class city. Finally, KRS 132.200 provides that all property subject to taxation for state purposes shall also be subject to taxation for county, city, or school purposes except for certain classes of property not relevant to your inquiry.
In summary, if the property currently used for parking purposes is in excess of the applicable acre limitation, any excess is not exempt from taxation under the laws of this commonwealth as long as it is not used also for worship services or as a parsonage. We sincerely hope this opinion has satisfactorily answered your question.