Evening star., 1938-10-10
PRIVATE SCHOOL
. IS HELD TAX FREE
D. c. Court Rules Non-Profit
institutions Exempt in
Seminary Case.

An educational institution, not
operated for profit, is exempt from
District Of Columbia taxes, the United
States Court OF Appeals held today, in
sustaining the contentious of Mount
Vernon Seminary. which operates q
private school for girls here, and
overruling the municipality.
Under protest, the seminary, which
was represented in the appellate
tribunal by Attorneys John w. Guider
and Arthur j. Phelan, paid taxes and
penalties assessed against its real and
personal property for 1894 and 1885
and brought suit in District Court to
recover. The lower court awarded
Judgment in favor of the seminary
and District Government appealed.
= Mr.. Guider explained that actually
some $4,000 taxes are involved in the
= case at bar, but now tax bill has as
sumed a grand total Of 100000. as the
District has presented bills for the
intervening three years.
Social Argument Secuted.
:. The Appellate Court pointed out that
the receipts of the seminary in re-
: cent years gave net profit. but none
of the money went to the incorpo-
= rators or to any contributor to its en-
dowment. The court held that the
seminary is neither corporation con-
Quoted for private gain or is its prop
erty used for private gain, within
the meaning Of the law, and 50 it is
not subject to tax
-: The District Government had ar
eued that many students, not District
residents, are accepted as pupils by the
seminary and only those whose social
and financial standing is acceptable
are admitted, but the court held this
argument without legal merit.
Compliment to d. c.
''The policy of the District of Co.
-lumbia, as expressed in its statutes,
is and should be, to encourage rather
than to discourage the entrance into
its schools of students from all parts
Of the country" said the court in its
opinion today, complimenting the Ma
tions Capital that it has educational
Institutions of such high caIiber that
outside students are attracted here.
The case WAS heard before Chief
Justice D. Lawrence Groner and Asso-
ciate Justice Justin Miller. as well as
Justice James M. Proctor, the last
named being a jurist of District Court.
No Estimate ON d. C. Losses.
Informed of the ruling by the Court
Of Appeals exempting the Mount
Vernon Seminary from payment of
taxes. Deputy Tax Assessor c. A. Rus
sell said today it would take some time
to determine how many educational
institutions in the District will be
affected by the decision.
Mr.. Russell explained he had not yet
had time to discuss the ruling with
Assistant Corporation Counsel Chester
H. Gray, who handled the Mount Yer
non Seminary case for the District.
He said he would have to determine
on what grounds the Appellate Court
based its decision before he could make
an estimate OF how much the District
stands to lose through such exemp-
tions.
Mr.. Russell said several requests for
exemptions have been held up pend
ing the decision in the Mount Vernon
school case, and added that, as re-
suit Of the ruling, other similar re-
guests will be filed with the assessors
of1ce.
AS a general rule, he explained, all
schools that are Self-sustaining-that
is, schools which charge tuition-are
subject to the personal property tax.
while private educational institutions
which take in charitable or free pu-
pills are exempt from this tax.
It also has been a general rule to
charge private schools real estate
tax unless the property belongs to
church.