Hi gang,
I've had my face buried (no pun) in Article 14 again. I saw something
that has made me do some thinking. This is one of those wild hair ideas
and is so obvious its funny, almost devious.
According to Chapter 68, a Township Trustee is required to care for any
cemetery that 1) is without funds for maintenance; 2) was in existance
on February 28, 1939; and 3) is operated by a nonprofit organization or
is not managed by any viable organization. Under section 1(b), none of
the above applies to a cemetery on which property taxes are paid. The
thing this chapter calls attention to and which caught my eye is the
fact the nonprofit organizations don't pay property taxes.
Now, if a property owner has a cemetery on his/her property and should
not wish to pay taxes on the cemetery, he/she could try granting the
land to the Township. The Township Trustee can of course reject the
grant in favor of the property taxes. However, if the landowner were to
grant the land to a nonprofit organization like say the PCRP, then the
Township Trustee is still required to provide maintenance for the
property under Chapter 68. The NFP organization is merely required to
provide a verified statement of assets and liabilities to the Township
Trustee.
Wouldn't this be an interesting, twisted way of taking advantage of a
loophole? I know there are a lot of "if" and "maybe" involved, but
it
is still food for thought.
--
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Scott Satterthwaite
Indiana Pioneer Cemeteries Restoration Project State Coordinator
http://www.citznet.com/~ssattert/inpcrp/