Mission Has A Driveway Tax

“The city of Mission is taxing churches,” said Erik Stanley. “And that’s clearly unconstitutional.”  He said the government can tax your life and can tax your death, but they’re not supposed to tax your church.

In August, Mission, Kansas passed the so-called “driveway tax,” a controversial charge, in addition to property taxes, for residents and businesses based on the number of times their driveway is used.  A big box store like Target can pay over $60,000 annually, while residents pay a flat rate of $72 dollars a year.

It’s unpopular among residents. It’s particularly controversial because the town has included churches in the program.  The Baptist church for instance has to pay $900 a year, while the more popular St. Pius X Catholic Church is charged $1700 a year.

Stanley, who is an attorney for the Alliance Defense Fund, a national organization that protects religious rights, is now representing the two churches in a lawsuit against Mission.

He calls the revenue program “a tax on church attendance.”

“The city of Mission is taxing churches based on the number of people that come in and out of their driveway, the number of people that come to church,” he said.

“This is not a tax,” Mission’s Mayor Laura McConwell said in a telephone interview. “This is a fee.”

Mission has maintained the town is simply charging a “fee for service.” City officials say they charge similar fees for water and electricity.

“That is clever,” said Stanley. “But it’s not going to work.”  He says the charge is clearly a property tax issue, and he says any judge will see it that way.

“This is not a fee for service,” he said. “This is a tax.”

Mission is charging a tax for driveways.  The theory is the driveway is part of the sidewalk which the city maintains.  So now they tax church attendance.

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