Christian theme park sues over tax status

[Gauracandra 1]

Christian theme park sues over tax status

November 23, 2001 Posted: 10:54 AM EST (1554 GMT)

 

ORLANDO, Florida (AP) -- A Christian theme park sued the county and state, claiming the park was wrongly denied tax-exempt status as a religious and educational facility.

 

The request for tax exemption for the Holy Land Experience was turned down in June, when property appraiser Bill Donegan said the park is a business, "not a museum, not a school and not a church."

 

The lawsuit, filed in Orange County Circuit Court on Monday, seeks to overturn that decision, which could cost the park $28,000 this year and hundreds of thousands in the future. The park was opened in February by Zion's Hope, a nonprofit, nondenominational Christian ministry.

 

Pat Robertson's legal advocacy group, the American Center for Law and Justice, is representing the theme park.

 

"We think the property appraiser is wrong, and his interpretation of the law is dead wrong," said Marv Rosenthal, executive director of Holy Land Experience. "We have run it by three significant law firms ... and all of them were, quite frankly, shocked this would even get by the property appraiser's desk."

 

Donegan did exempt the portion of the property that houses the administrative and education facilities for Zion's Hope.

 

He said Monday that he hasn't changed his mind about the theme park.

 

"The question is, what is the use of the property?" Donegan asked. "What is going on there?"

 

The park's founders call it a "living museum" that re-creates the Holy Land during the biblical era. Structures such as the Temple of the Great King and the Qumran Dead Sea Caves mimic those in ancient Jerusalem, and actors in period dress recount stories from the Bible and sing religious songs. The Scriptorium, a display of ancient biblical manuscripts, is scheduled to open next year.

 

Only the value of the land, not the buildings, will be taxed this year. The property is valued at $1.4 million, so Holy Land officials could pay about $28,000 this year, Donegan said.

 

Next year, adding the $16 million worth of facilities on the property, Holy Land officials could pay as much as $348,000 in property taxes. The park has an estimated $9 million operating budget this year.

 

If Holy Land Experience loses its battle, Rosenthal said the park may have to raise the $17 price of admission to make up for the shortfall.

 

An attorney for the park said it should be treated as a museum. The theme park "is part and parcel of the religious ministry," said Mat Staver, president of the Orlando-based Liberty Counsel.

 

"The government may not make doctrinal decisions by determining some aspects are central to the religious ministry and some are not," Staver said. "The First Amendment prohibits governmental gerrymandering."