February 18, 1987
Mr. Kerry M. Cameron
Roberts County State's Attorney
Sisseton, South Dakota 57262
OFFICIAL OPINION NO. 87-05
Tax exemption for print shop owned and operated by evangelist
Dear Mr. Cameron:
You have requested an official opinion based upon the following factual situation:
FACT:
Lowell Lundstrom Ministries of Sisseton, South Dakota is contemplating purchase of a large warehouse located in Sisseton, South Dakota. The purchase of this warehouse is conditioned on whether or not his property will be entitled to an exemption from real estate taxes if it is so purchased.
Lowell Lundstrom Ministries is a well known evangelist group
which delivers its message via radio, television and crusades involving personal appearances. The group is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as an exempt organization under section 501-C of the Internal Revenue Code.
The warehouse, if purchased, will be used as a print shop to print appeal letters, books, supplies and other printed goods used by the ministry. No commercial printing is contemplated.
Concerning these facts you have asked the following question.
QUESTION:
Would this building, if purchased and used as above-outlined, be exempt from real estate taxes under SDCL 10-4 or any other, provision of South Dakota law?
The statute in question, SDCL 10-4-9 as rewritten in 1986 reads as follows:
Property owned by any religious society and used exclusively for religious purposes, is exempt from taxation. Property of a religious society is exempt from taxation if such property is a building or structure used exclusively for religious purposes, is a lot owned by a religious society for the exclusive purpose of parking vehicles owned by members of the such society and is not rented or leased to nonmembers of such society, is an educational plant owned and operated by a religious society or is a building or structure used to house any cleric of religious society.
This clarifies the definition of the exemption for religious and charitable purposes found in §10-4-9 before amendment, which had remained basically unchanged since 1897.
Our Supreme Court in the case of State ex rel. Eveland v. Erickson, 44 S.D. 63, 182 N.W. 315 (1921), in deciding that the dwelling house for a minister was entitled to the same exemption as the church itself determined that the Constitution or statutes of South Dakota do not limit church property that may be exempted from taxation to that necessarily used for public worship. The Court referred with approval to the dissent in Monticello Seminary case, 249 I11. 481,
94 N.E. 938. The Court cited Section 6, or Article XI of our State Constitution providing that the "legislature shall, by general law, exempt from taxation, property used exclusively for * * * school, religious, cemetery and charitable purposes ***" as well as the section of the code which now is § 10-4-9.
It is therefore my opinion that the Lundstrom property, if used as outlined in your request, would be exempt from property tax under SDCL 10-4-9.
Sincerely,
Roger A. Tellinghuisen
ATTORNEY GENERAL
