(DOWNLOAD) "Appalachian Mountain Club v. Meredith" by Supreme Court of New Hampshire * eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Appalachian Mountain Club v. Meredith
- Author : Supreme Court of New Hampshire
- Release Date : January 30, 1960
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 69 KB
Description
By statute the personal property of religious, educational and charitable societies locally incorporated or organized, and
their real estate owned and occupied (RSA 72:23), or owned, occupied and used (Laws 1957, c. 202, s. 2) by them for their
charitable purposes were tax exempt for the tax years in question, provided none of the income or profits of their business
was used or appropriated for other than the charities they administered. Since the 1957 amendment (Laws 1957, (supra) ) took
effect on April 1, 1958, the petitions relating to the years 1956 and 1957 are governed by the statute before amendment, and
the petition relating to the year 1958 by the amended statute. It may be assumed that the plaintiff is neither a religious nor an educational society under either statute, and that it
"may be exempted from taxation only as it is shown to be a public charity of another character." Young Women's Christian Ass'n
v. Portsmouth, 89 N.H. 40, 41. "But its services in the fields of... education have evidentiary value to show its proper classification
as a charitable organization within the act. They are indicative of an enterprise not undertaken as a commercial venture,
with a money-profit motive, or as a group devoted to its own social enjoyment." Id. While the plaintiff's membership is subject
to a reasonable measure of control designed to further accomplishment of its objects, the public is the beneficiary of the
great preponderance of its activities, and for all practical purposes its membership is also open to the public. See Holt
v. Antrim, 64 N.H. 284, 286 ; Chung Mee v. Healy, 86 N.H. 483, 484. As its brief points out, its activities fall generally
into five broad categories: exploration, education, conservation, public safety and furtherance of outdoor life. The plaintiff's
qualifications as a charitable organization within the meaning of the statute, both before and after amendment, are not open
to serious question. Young Women's Christian Ass'n v. Portsmouth, supra; Portsmouth Historical Society v. Portsmouth, 89 N.H.
283; Greater Lowell Girl Scout Council v. Pelham, 100 N.H. 24. Cf. Society of Cincinnati v. Exeter, 92 N.H. 348, 356.