30 nonprofits have tax-exempt status removed

ALBANY, Ga. — Properties owned by at least 30 different nonprofit organizations have been stripped of their tax-exempt status by the Dougherty County Board of Assessors.

The properties are mostly those owned by local churches but also include local charitable organizations such as Open Arms Inc. and the East Albany Benevolent Society.

The move comes as the board continues a review of the hundreds of nonprofit organizations in Dougherty County, each of which applies each year for an exemption from property taxes.

“The purpose of the review is to make sure that the groups that are tax-exempt are meeting the requirements to be exempt,” Chief Appraiser Larry Thomas said. “We’re trying to make sure that, for those who should, that everyone is paying their fair and equitable share.”

According to the Internal Revenue Service, 272 different nonprofit, charitable organizations are listed with Albany addresses. The IRS lists 170 more that had their federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked in 2011.

Thomas said the review is ongoing and that it’s likely that more revocation recommendations could come before the board throughout the year.

“We are presently trying to complete a review of those entities,” Thomas said. “Needless to say, it’s a rather lengthy list.”

The properties that were revoked typically were ancillary properties and, in the cases of the churches, not the root property.

“They are properties like houses or buildings or vacant land that didn’t meet the criteria for exemption,” Thomas said.