San Francisco, Calif., Dec 2, 2009 / 20:00 pm
Nearly two years after Archbishop George Niederauer of San Francisco initiated a corporate restructuring of the archdiocese, and a year after the city of San Francisco attempted to levy a $14.4 million property transfer tax on the archdiocese, the dispute will be moving to a civil court.
On November 30, the San Francisco Transfer Tax Appeals Board ruled orally in favor of San Francisco Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting who initiated the process to levy this tax on the archdiocese.
Noting that “more than 19 months have gone by since we first presented a straightforward transaction for recordation by City Recorder Phil Ting’s office and were met with inexcusable delays, and at times, arrogance,” a statement released by the archdiocese said, “We are glad that having exhausted the required administrative process we can finally proceed to a formal, neutral civil court forum.”
The story began in December 2007 when San Francisco Archbishop George Niederauer initiated a corporate restructuring of the archdiocese. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the restructuring took land from the “Roman Catholic Welfare Corporation” and the “Roman Catholic Archbishop of San Francisco” and transferred them to a new corporation called “the Archdiocese of San Francisco Parish and School Juridic Persons Real Property Support Corp.”