Non-profit hospitals in Washington state will be refunded tens of millions of dollars this year from the state's Department of Revenue after an update to the state property tax code took effect last year, according to a Longview Daily News report.
Originally, property tax exemptions only applied to medical facilities that provided 24-hour inpatient care, but in 2007, a state court ruled the inpatient-outpatient designation to determine whether a facility was tax-exempt was out-of-date, according to the report.
The new tax ruling went into effect in 2010, but several hospitals argued the exemptions should also be retroactive to 2007, according to the report. The state agreed, and since then, Washington's Department of Revenue has processed more than 60 hospital exemption applications, with tax break refunds set to roll out this year. The Department of Revenue estimates that non-profit hospitals will receive $70 million statewide this year.
Several cities have paid the owed money out of reserve funds, and local officials are debating whether property owners will see increased tax bills in 2012 to make up for the lost tax revenue, according to the report.
Beneficiaries of the new property tax exemption include some of Washington's largest hospitals, such as Seattle-based Virginia Mason Medical Center, Tacoma (Wash.) General Hospital and Spokane, Wash.-based Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center.
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Originally, property tax exemptions only applied to medical facilities that provided 24-hour inpatient care, but in 2007, a state court ruled the inpatient-outpatient designation to determine whether a facility was tax-exempt was out-of-date, according to the report.
The new tax ruling went into effect in 2010, but several hospitals argued the exemptions should also be retroactive to 2007, according to the report. The state agreed, and since then, Washington's Department of Revenue has processed more than 60 hospital exemption applications, with tax break refunds set to roll out this year. The Department of Revenue estimates that non-profit hospitals will receive $70 million statewide this year.
Several cities have paid the owed money out of reserve funds, and local officials are debating whether property owners will see increased tax bills in 2012 to make up for the lost tax revenue, according to the report.
Beneficiaries of the new property tax exemption include some of Washington's largest hospitals, such as Seattle-based Virginia Mason Medical Center, Tacoma (Wash.) General Hospital and Spokane, Wash.-based Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center.
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