The city of Boston is out with the latest data on payments that nonprofit institutions make to the city — on a “voluntary” basis. So of course, the annual Shaming of the Charities will now get underway.
The focus, as usual, is on the charitable institutions that don’t pay a cash tribute to the city — or more specifically, that don’t pay as much as the city thinks they should.
The Boston Globe, for example, led Monday’s paper with a report headlined, “Colleges pay less than city seeks.” Perhaps “City collects $32 million from charitable institutions in payments they don’t owe” just wouldn’t fit into a headline?
The Globe story does of course explain that the payments are voluntary.
But it seems to reflect an attitude in some circles — and most importantly, within City Hall — that nonprofits, because they don’t pay taxes on property they own in the city, are content to lay back and sponge off the taxpayers.
The 5-year-old payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) program does provide the institutions with a “credit” for community benefits they provide (a credit that is determined by the city), and the “bill” represents only a portion of what the institutions would owe if the property were subject to taxation.
Some of the larger institutions employ their own police forces, plow their own roads, in addition to employing thousands of city residents. If they decide they’re willing to write a check to meet the city’s full demand, well, good for them.
But shaming the institutions that don’t — or can’t — pay as much as they city wants is really just grubby.
