Carter Ledyard obtained a favorable outcome on behalf of its client HeartShare Human Services of New York, and Resurrection Catholic Coptic Church in a tax dispute with the New York City Department of Finance. For years, HeartShare rented a part of the Church’s property for the purpose of providing residential services to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Despite the nature of the occupants’ usage of the property, the New York City Department of Finance only granted a partial tax exemption and assessed that over a million dollars in taxes were owed.
Carter Ledyard successfully argued that because HeartShare and the Church operated for charitable and religious purposes, respectively, and used the entirety of the property to fulfill these purposes, the property should be fully tax exempt. The Department of Finance reviewed Carter Ledyard’s appeal, consisting of voluminous evidence supporting that the entirety of the property was used for tax exempt purposes, and agreed to categorize the property as fully tax exempt–essentially erasing all past due taxes on the property during the time that HeartShare rented from the Church.
HeartShare was represented by Carter Ledyard partner Christopher Rizzo, with assistance from associate Nilima M. Singh.