ASSEMBLY COMMERCE AND MILITARY AND VETERANS' AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 1576

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: APRIL 1, 1996

      The Assembly Commerce and Military and Veterans' Affairs Committee reports favorably Assembly, No. 1576.

      This bill permits war veterans' organizations to conduct certain auxiliary income-producing activities and retain property tax exempt status.

      Veterans' organizations, in addition to using their halls for veterans' meetings and affairs, also rent their facilities to members of the public for affairs. The money raised from rentals to non-organization members is often donated by the organization to local charitable and civic causes. Some veterans' organizations have been denied property tax exempt status by the courts because the catering activities for non-members in the facility were found to exceed the legally authorized property tax exempt use.

      This bill is designed to preserve the tax exempt status of veterans' organizations, even if these entities use their property for an income-producing purpose on an auxiliary basis, if all net proceeds from such auxiliary activities are utilized in furtherance of the purpose of the organization or for other charitable purposes.