Was Metairie Country Club exempt from Louisiana property taxes as a fraternal club?

Plain-English summary

Jefferson Parish's assessor asked whether Metairie Country Club's land and improvements qualified for an ad valorem tax exemption. In 2000, the attorney general's office concluded the club was not exempt under the charitable and fraternal club provision of the Louisiana Constitution. It said an organization needed both charitable and fraternal purposes and had to practice them; being a nonprofit country club was not enough.

The club's lawyer pointed to language in its articles about physical, mental, and moral development without private profit. The office read the articles as a whole, including their focus on golf, swimming, tennis, and members' social activities, and said the quoted phrase alone did not establish the exemption. It also explained that the assessor, Tax Commission, and courts made the actual exemption determinations; the attorney general could explain the applicable law but could not grant an exemption.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2000. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Parish assessors at the time

The opinion described assessors as making the initial factual exemption determination, subject to Tax Commission and court review. It said they could examine an applicant's actual activities and property use, not only its charter language.

Country club officers at the time

The office said nonprofit status and an article promising no private profit did not alone establish a charitable and fraternal exemption. It examined the club's purposes in the articles as a whole.

Property tax administrators at the time

The opinion treated exemptions as narrowly construed and applied the constitutional provision for clubs organized and practicing charitable and fraternal purposes. It reported that Tax Commission representatives concurred in its analysis.

Common questions

Q: Did calling itself a nonprofit make Metairie Country Club tax exempt?
A: No. The opinion said nonprofit status alone did not meet the constitutional charitable and fraternal standard.

Q: Did the club's no-profit clause establish a fraternal purpose?
A: No. The office said it had to read the articles as a whole and that the emphasized clause could not by itself establish the exemption.

Q: Who made the actual property tax exemption determination?
A: The opinion identified the assessor, Tax Commission, and ultimately the courts; it said the attorney general could not grant an exemption.

Background and statutory framework

The club claimed an exemption under Article VII, Section 21(B)(1)(a) and pointed to its articles of incorporation. The office said the more apt test for a club was Article VII, Section 21(B)(3), concerning property of an organization organized for charitable and fraternal purposes and practicing them. It applied earlier country club opinions and the rule that tax exemptions are strictly construed.

Citations and references

• Louisiana Constitution, Article VII, Section 21(B)(1)(a) (provision invoked by the club)
• Louisiana Constitution, Article VII, Section 21(B)(3) (club exemption analyzed by the office)
• Mattingly v. Vial, 193 La. 1, 190 So.313 (1939) (strict construction of tax exemptions, as quoted in the opinion)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/00-0380

Original opinion text

November 3, 2000
OPINION NUMBER 00-380

119-
Taxation-Exemptions, General
Mr. Lawrence E. Chehardy, CLA 122- Taxation-Exemptions from Property Taxes Assessor, Jefferson Parish
Article VII, Section 21(B)(1)(a) and (B)(3) 200 Derbigny Street
Gretna, LA 70083
The Metairie Country Club is not exempt from the payment of
ad valorem taxes.
Dear Mr. Chehardy:

You have requested an opinion of the Attorney General regarding the tax exempt status, vel non, of the land and improvements comprising the Metairie Country Club (Club). Attached to your letter is a legal memorandum from the attorney for the Club in support of the position that the Club is exempt from ad valorem taxes.

Initially, it should be noted that the authority to determine whether a particular taxpayer is exempt from the payment of ad valorem taxes is a factual determination exclusively reserved by the Louisiana Constitution and state law to the Assessor, the Louisiana Tax Commission and, ultimately, the courts. Attorney General Opinion Nos. 00-140, 97-481, 96-438, 94-602, 94-603, 93-392, 92-660, 89-599 and 76-114. While the Attorney General does not have the authority to grant tax exemptions, we would like to assist you as to the applicable law which may be used in making individual determinations.

The jurisprudence of this state has consistently held that constitutional and statutory grants of exemption from taxation must be strictly construed in favor of the taxing body and against the taxpayer desiring the exemption. Any possible doubt is fatal to the exemption. Thus, an exemption, being an exceptional privilege, must be clearly, unequivocally and affirmatively established. Zapata Haney Corp. v. Larpenter, 583 So.2d 867 (La. App. 1st Cir. 1991) writ denied and Ruston Hospital v. Riser, 191 So.2d 665 (La. App. 2nd Cir. 1966).

In Mattingly v. Vial, 193 La. 1, 190 So.313 (1939), our Supreme Court held:

There is no principle of interpretation more firmly and uniformly established by the jurisprudence of this and other States than the unbroken rule that exemptions from taxation are to be strictly construed against the person claiming the exemption and that any plausible doubt is fatal.

Page 2

Mr. Lawrence E. Chehardy
Assessor, Jefferson Parish
Page: -2-

As can be gleaned from the above, it is the function of the assessing authorities to make, subject to judicial review, the initial factual determinations on particular ad valorem tax exemptions. In doing so, these taxing authorities may examine the actual activities of an applicant, including the use of the particular property under consideration. Attorney General Opinion Nos. 86-529 and 76-114.

The attorney for the Club submits that the property is tax exempt pursuant to Article VII, Section 21(B)(1)(a). Citing Article III of the Club’s Articles of Incorporation, he takes the position that the Club qualifies as a tax exempt fraternal organization. Article III states:

The objects and purposes of the corporation are declared to be:

(a) To acquire the golf links, together with clubhouse and improvements thereon, located in Metairie, Jefferson Parish, formerly used by Metairie Golf Club, and to operate same as a private golf links and country club, for the use of its members and guests.

(b) To install and operate thereon, for the convenience of its members and guests, a modern and sanitary swimming pool and tennis courts;

(c) To promote and foster among its members and guests, athletic games and sports of all kinds; to promote social contact and amusement among its members; to promote among them refinement of manners and intellectual improvement.

(d) And, generally, to do any and all things necessary or germane to the accomplishment of the above objects and purposes, solely and only for the physical, mental, and moral development of its members and guests, without pecuniary reward or profit to any. (Emphasis added.)

To support his position, the attorney refers to Attorney General Opinion Nos. 94-419 and 93-252. We find these opinions to be inapposite to the issue at hand.

We have reviewed the Club’s Articles of Incorporation, and suggest that the proper test for exemption is found in Article VII, Section 21(B)(3) of the Constitution. We further note that, if one considers the Club’s Article III in its entirety, it does not appear to qualify as a fraternal purpose under Section 21(B)(1)(a). To rely solely on the language quoted and emphasized above, would enable any club or organization to qualify for tax exemption by merely including that language in their Articles.

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Mr. Lawrence E. Chehardy
Assessor, Jefferson Parish
Page: -3-

Section 21(B)(3) provides tax exempt status to “property of an organization such as a lodge or club organized for charitable and fraternal purposes and practicing the same”. This office has had previous occasion to interpret this provision as it applies to country clubs. In Opinion No. 95-164, the issue presented was whether the Abbeville Country Club was entitled to an exemption from ad valorem taxes. We concluded:

Initially, it should be noted that country and social club activities are seldom afforded exemption under the definition of a “charitable and fraternal” organization referred to in the above quoted constitutional provision. This office has consistently interpreted this constitutional language to require that an organization have both charitable and fraternal purposes to enjoy an exemption through its provisions. In accord are Attorney General Opinion Nos. 94-419, 79-861, 79-861A and 89-350. In addition, the fact that the organization may enjoy state and/or federal exemptions from the payment of income tax is not controlling. In accord is Attorney General Opinion No. 79-861-A.

In Opinion No. 79-861, we concluded that a country club or social club would not be entitled to an exemption despite the fact that the club is a nonprofit organization. We affirmed this conclusion in Opinion No. 79-861-A.

As you are aware, considerable weight must be afforded to an administrative agency’s construction of the statutory and/or constitutional provisions that it is entrusted to administer and deference must be given to its administrative interpretations. J. Ray McDermott, Inc. v. Morrison, 705 So.2d 195 (La. App. 1st Cir. 1997) writ denied. We have been advised by representatives of the Louisiana Tax Commission that they concur in our analysis.

Trusting this adequately responds to your question, I am

Very truly yours,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
Attorney General

By:
ROBERT E. HARROUN, III
Assistant Attorney General

RPI/REH,3/sfj

Page 4

SYLLABUS

OPINION NUMBER 00-380

119 Taxation-Exemptions, General
122- Taxation-Exemptions from Property Taxes

Article VII, Section 21(B)(1)(a) and (B)(3)

The Metairie Country Club is not exempt from the payment of ad valorem taxes.

Mr. Lawrence E. Chehardy, CLA
Assessor, Jefferson Parish
200 Derbigny Street
Gretna, LA 70083

DATE RECEIVED:

DATE RELEASED: November 3, 2000

Robert E. Harroun, III
Assistant Attorney General