Catholic Community Services, Inc. v. City of Newark
Catholic Community Services, Inc. v. City of Newark
Opinion of the Court
Defendant, City of Newark, appeals from a Tax Court judgment granting a tax exemption for property owned by plaintiff, Catholic Community Services, and leased to the United States Postal Service (Post Office). Defendant contends that the lease destroys plaintiff’s otherwise valid exemption under N.J.S.A. 54:4-3.6 because the Post Office, a federal agency immune from taxation, is not one of the specific exempt entities enumerated in N.J.S.A. 54:4-3.6.
We combine the procedural history and relevant facts. On March 29, 2001, plaintiff filed two separate petitions of appeal with the Essex County Board of Taxation for tax year 2001, claiming an exemption for 494 Broad Street, which included two lots, one containing the Post Office building and the other the accompany
Plaintiff filed complaints in the Tax Court, challenging the assessment for the 2001, 2002, and 2003 tax years. Plaintiff moved for summary judgment and defendant responded with its cross-motion for summary judgment.
In a published decision on September 14, 2004, Judge Raymond Hayser concluded that plaintiff did not lose its tax-exemption on the building and parking lot leased to the Post Office. Catholic Cmty. Servs. v. City of Newark, 21 N.J.Tax 633 (Tax 2004). An order granting summary judgment and memorializing the judge’s decision was entered on the same date.
On appeal, defendant asserts that the terms “tax exempt” and “tax immune” are not interchangeable and Judge Hayser erred in focusing on whether the two terms were synonymous rather than whether the Post Office was a “different exempt use” than that contemplated by the 2001 amendment to N.J.S.A. 54:4-3.6. We disagree and affirm the judgment of the Tax Court substantially for the reasons expressed by Judge Hayser in his published opinion.
Affirmed.
The order also dealt with additional properties and issues not relevant to this appeal.
Plaintiff's contention that the appeal is procedurally deficient because defendant filed only one appeal for several tax years is rendered moot by our
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