Bosnian Muslim Mosque Loses Tax-Exempt Status, Do You Agree?

The Islamic Community Center, a congregation of mostly Bosnian Muslims, bought land in south St. Louis County for a mosque, but then failed to build immediately due to the recession, according to an article in the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

St. Louis County’s Board of Equalization has said the group ceded its First Amendment right to exempt the property from taxation when it let the land sit unused.

“No evidence was presented to establish any actual or regular use of the property for any religious educational or charitable purposes,” a board report said. “The property is vacant and unused real estate.”

The religious group filed a lawsuit in April challenging the decision, saying it had always intended to develop it into a religious and community center, and that it should maintain its tax-exempt status.

The board of equalization should be cautious of fraud, but is that the case here?

Should the Islamic Community Center be given tax-exempt status, or did it give that up when it let the land sit unused?

Read the complete article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.