Wisconsin Judge Upholds Property-Tax Levy for Health Group

A Wisconsin judge has ordered a nonprofit health-care group to pay property taxes on equipment and furnishings at its offices, saying it does not pass a litmus test as a “benevolent” organization, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Michael O. Bohren said ProHealthCare could be taxed on its headquarters because it supports numerous for-profit ventures. The organization, which fought the levies in court for three years, owns the nonprofit Waukesha and Oconomowoc memorial hospitals, which will not be affected by the ruling.

Deborah Blanks, president of the Wisconsin Nonprofits Association, characterized the case as an example of governments turning to tax-exempt entities to replenish depleted public coffers, “something that a lot of nonprofits are going to have to look at.”