YMCA v. Dept. of Rev.

784 P.2d 1086, 308 Or. 644
CourtOregon Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 28, 1989
DocketOTC 2717 SC S35831
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 784 P.2d 1086 (YMCA v. Dept. of Rev.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Oregon Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
YMCA v. Dept. of Rev., 784 P.2d 1086, 308 Or. 644 (Or. 1989).

Opinion

784 P.2d 1086 (1989)
308 Or. 644

THE YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF COLUMBIA-WILLAMETTE, an Oregon Non-Profit, Charitable Corporation, Appellant,
v.
DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE, an Agency of the State of Oregon, Respondent, and
the Court Club, Inc., an Oregon Corporation, and Northwest Alliance for Market Equality, an Unincorporated Association, Respondents.

OTC 2717; SC S35831.

Supreme Court of Oregon.

Argued and Submitted September 5, 1989.
Decided December 28, 1989.
Reconsideration Denied February 6, 1990.

*1087 Thomas H. Tongue and G. Kenneth Shiroishi, Portland, argued the cause for appellant. With them on the briefs were Jeffrey F. Nudelman and Dunn, Carney, Allen, Higgins & Tongue, Portland.

Ted E. Barbera, Asst. Atty. Gen., Salem, argued the cause for respondent, Dept. of Revenue. With him on the brief was Dave Frohnmayer, Atty. Gen., Salem.

Michael J. Morris, Portland, argued the cause and filed the brief for respondents, The Court Club, Inc. and Northwest Alliance For Market Equality.

Arno H. Denecke, Salem, filed a brief on behalf of amicus curiae The Oregon Cluster of YMCAs.

Before PETERSON, C.J., LINDE, JONES, GILLETTE, VAN HOOMISSEN, FADELEY, JJ., and CAMPBELL, J., Pro Tem.

FADELEY, Justice.

This appeal from the decision of the Oregon Tax Court turns on the meaning of the word "charitable" in the property tax exemption statutes. ORS 307.130(1)(a) provides in part:

"[T]he following property owned or being purchased by incorporated * * * charitable * * * institutions shall be exempt from taxation:
(a) * * * only such real or personal property * * * as is actually and exclusively occupied or used in * * * charitable * * * work carried on by such institutions."

Following receipt of an alternative writ of mandamus from the Tax Court, the Multnomah County Assessor decided to place all real and personal property of the Young Men's Christian Association of Columbia-Willamette (YMCA-CW) in that county on the tax rolls in 1985, ending the exemptions from taxation granted by his predecessors. YMCA-CW appealed to the Department of Revenue, which reversed the assessor and granted the exemption to all but two of the taxpayer's ten property sites in Multnomah County. The Department agreed with the assessor that the remaining two sites, the Metropolitan Fitness Center and the Commonwealth Fitness Center, did not meet the statutory requirements for exemption. The Department explained:

"[T]he two fitness centers are not operated in a charitable manner because of their policies to serve only a small segment of the community, their pricing *1088 structure, and the minimal element of giving.
"* * * * *
"The real and personal property of the Commonwealth and Metropolitan Fitness Centers shall be assessed beginning only with the 1985-86 tax year."

YMCA-CW appealed to the Tax Court, which affirmed the Department's denial of exemption for these two properties. 11 OTR 101 (1988).

The Tax Court recounted that a family membership cost $525.00 to join plus yearly dues of $720.00 at the Metropolitan Center and $175.00 to join plus yearly dues of $480.00 at the Commonwealth Center. For 1986, the Tax Court found that, at Metropolitan, only five percent of the 4,400 members were given either partial or full financial aid to defray the cost of their use of the facilities and that, at Commonwealth, 11 out of approximately 145 members received such aid in 1986. Total revenue at Metropolitan for that year was $2,408,530. Metropolitan valued the scholarships granted there at $95,419 for that year. The Tax Court denied the exemption claimed for these two facilities because the element of gift or giving in the use of the facilities was insufficient to meet the statutory criteria.

Commonwealth is in leased space at 421 S.W. Sixth Avenue in Portland and the exemption claim covers only personal property valued at $660 for 1985-86. Metropolitan is a 68,600 square foot, three-level concrete structure costing $4,300,000 when built in 1977 and valued at $5,225,000 for 1985-86. It is located in Portland at 2831 SW Barbur Blvd., near Terwilliger Blvd. The Tax Court noted that the last census reported 2,063 families in the area nearby Metropolitan, 15 percent of whom had incomes of less than $7,500. The census reported 10,248 children between the ages of 5 and 15 within three miles of the Metropolitan branch. The Tax Court agreed that YMCA-CW's selection of activities to be conducted at Metropolitan and Commonwealth which focus on meeting the needs of working adults in Portland's downtown area makes economic sense. However, the Tax Court decided that "such policy, however, does not constitute charity as the sole or primary object of the organization." YMCA-CW appeals to this court from the Tax Court's denial of tax exemption for the two branch properties.

YMCA-CW is a non-profit corporation operating in the greater Portland metropolitan area. Although it is affiliated with and contributes a percentage of income to the National Council of YMCAs headquartered in Chicago, YMCA-CW is operated by an autonomous local board. Its facilities in Multnomah County are operated as separate branches, each influenced by branch boards but ultimately accountable to YMCA-CW.

In this case, the question is not whether the YMCA, as an organization, is charitable. No doubts need be raised about the generally charitable nature of the YMCA nationally, in Oregon, or in metropolitan Portland in order to decide whether specific real or personal property is employed in a manner which qualifies for exemption from property taxes. The question is whether the real and personal property at the Metropolitan branch and the personal property at the Commonwealth branch are "actually and exclusively occupied or used in * * * charitable * * * work carried on by such institutions." We affirm the Tax Court's decision.

A. "Charitable" Need Not Be Defined By Rule.

YMCA-CW makes an administrative law contention which, if well taken, would end the case without any need to consider its other claims. It contends that the Department could make no ruling to "deny" its exemption because the Department failed to adopt a rule defining "charitable" before YMCA-CW appealed to the Department. YMCA-CW contends that term "charitable" expresses non-complete legislation and constitutes a delegation of legislative authority to the Department. If that were correct, a rule would be needed before applying the term to a case. See Springfield Education Assn. v. School Dist., 290 Or. 217, 230, 621 P.2d 547 (1980); *1089 Megdal v. Board of Dental Examiners, 288 Or. 293, 605 P.2d 273 (1980).

One difficulty with applying that claim to this case is that the county assessor made the decision to place the properties on the tax roll, not the Department. The assessor is assigned responsibility for granting or denying the exemption claim. ORS 307.162 and 311.207 to 311.213.

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784 P.2d 1086, 308 Or. 644, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ymca-v-dept-of-rev-or-1989.