Bloomberg BNA Article “Shrine Still Not Absolved From Massachusetts Property Taxes” Quotes Diane C. Tillotson

A Roman Catholic shrine has filed a new lawsuit asking to recover almost $70,000 it paid in an “illegal tax” to the city of Attleboro this year.

It is the latest salvo in a years-long legal dispute between the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette and the city over whether parts of the shrine’s property are taxable.

The shrine filed a lawsuit in Bristol County Superior Court July 10, asking the court to order the city to return the $69,618 the shrine paid in property taxes to the city in 2017, plus interest and attorney’s fees. In the lawsuit, the shrine claims that its property should be exempted from taxes because it is a religious organization; it also argues that two parts that have been ruled as taxable are controlled by other charitable groups (National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette, Inc. v. City of Attleboro, Mass. Super. Ct., 1773 CV00581, complaint filed 7/10/17)