At least 218 local governments have received payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs) from nonprofits that are collectively worth more than $92 million per year, according to a new report by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy that provides far more detail on these voluntary payments than was previously available in any single source. The great majority of PILOT revenue comes from universities and hospitals, most PILOT activity occurs in the Northeast, and a small number of multi-million dollar PILOTs account for the majority of all revenue received nationwide, according to Payments in Lieu of Taxes by Nonprofits: Which Nonprofits Make PILOTs and Which Localities Receive Them, authored by Daphne A. Kenyon, Adam H. Langley and Patricia C. Bailin.
Tables that list all local governments that have received PILOTs and all nonprofits that have made them are available at the online resource Significant Features of the Property Tax in the Resources & Tools section of the Lincoln Institute website. The research is a follow-up on the Lincoln Institute Policy Focus Report Payments in Lieu of Taxes: Balancing Municipal and Nonprofit Interests, authored by Kenyon and Langley.
In recent years, a growing number of cities and towns have looked to PILOTs from tax-exempt nonprofits as one way to address growing fiscal challenges. Boston recently put in place the most comprehensive PILOT program in the nation and received $19.4 million in the first year. Providence, R.I. has made PILOTs an important part of efforts to deal with a serious fiscal crisis and has negotiated new agreements with Brown University and four other nonprofits.
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