The Family Leader Foundation, a high-profile Iowa conservative group, has won its fight to exempt its new headquarters in rural northeast Polk County from paying property taxes.
The nonprofit Christian organization led by prominent activist Bob Vander Plaats, sued Polk County in 2024 after being denied a tax exemption for the new facility it applied for as a nonprofit religious and charitable organization. The Family Leader will occupy part of the site of the former Geisler pumpkin patch seasonal farm attraction at 5179 NE 94th Ave., just northwest of Bondurant.
The Family Leader project began construction in 2023 and is envisioned to include an office, event center and possibly an amphitheater, incorporating an existing barn and multipurpose building on the 21-acre property.
The ruling in June from District Judge Scott Beattie reversed a decision by Polk County Assessor Randy Ripperger. Ripperger wrote in the denial letter that the property was ineligible because it was not used exclusively for religious or charitable purposes.
Beattie, in his ruling, said The Family Leader’s “signature program” is the Church Ambassador Network, headed by Greg Baker, vice president of The Family Leader.
According to the group, it ministers to government leaders, “pouring the teachings of the Bible into those leaders,” and works to partner churches with the state to meet community needs. It noted an effort to have churches provide support to families in order to cut down on foster care placements.
Summarizing the litigation, Beattie wrote that Ripperger “testified that he does not view the Church Ambassador Network work… as either a charitable or religious activity within the meaning of the exemption statutes, describing the work as laudable but not rising to the level of charity.”
Beattie said the county argued what Baker described the network as doing was “organizing assistance while other organizations perform the actual charitable work.” It also contended The Family Leader is not a church, takes credit for charity work by other organizations and that the headquarters land was used for commercial purposes, such as growing hay.
The foundation responded that its work is inherently religious, including requiring employees to profess their Christian faith, and that its activities fall within Iowa statutes’ definitions of charitable and religious work. It also said it let the farmer who grew hay on the property do so without charge and that it did not share in any proceeds, benefitting from the arrangement because it did not have to do maintenance work such as mowing on the cultivated acreage.
Beattie agreed with The Family Leader’s arguments and held the it had met all the requirements to qualify for a tax exemption.
“The Court cannot conclude that an organization whose daily work consists of prayer, scriptural teaching, and pastoral connection is anything other than predominantly religious in character,” he wrote.
He said Ripperger testified he also had relied on a tax reporting form from The Family Leader that said Vander Plaats spent 95% of his time on the arm of the group that supports political candidates and just 5% on its other activities. The group, Beattie said, later reported the firm that prepared the form had gotten those proportions backwards and that it was working to correct them with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
Promotional materials for the headquarters project reflect Vander Plaats initially said that the entire operation of the Family Leader would be housed there, Bettie wrote. But he said the group testified it instead plans to house the political operation in a separate office closer to the Iowa Capitol.
Beattie also noted that while Ripperger testified his office treats taxation as the rule and resolves any doubts in the county’s favor, an unrelated Iowa Supreme Court ruling earlier this year rejected that approach and held the tax code should be interpreted like any other statute.
Judge does not rule on political bias claim
At the time of the lawsuit, attorneys for The Family Leader claimed the assessor’s office had treated other nonprofit groups differently, citing organizations including the the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines. That organization, the attorneys said, has a charitable exemption although its mission is making grants to other charitable organizations rather than performing direct charitable work. They alleged the assessor’s decision was motivated by the group’s conservative advocacy.
Beattie did not address questions of political bias in his order. He also denied a separate claim that Polk County violated the Iowa Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which directs government to take the least restrictive approach when it comes to questions concerning the exercise of religious rights. Even so, his order takes note of “the caution counseled by the First Amendment” in any effort to distinguish actual churches, which The Family Leader admitted it is not, from other religiously motivated organizations.
“Civil courts cannot evaluate whether certain practices are sufficiently religious to warrant preferred tax or regulatory treatment,” he wrote. He added, the “Defendant’s argument, reduced to its essence, is that Plaintiff practices its faith in the wrong way, through ministry to government rather than through Sunday worship. … That is a distinction this Court is not free to draw.”
Attorneys for The Family Leader did not respond to messages seeking comment. Although the deadline to appeal the ruling has lapsed, a representative of the Polk County Attorney’s Office suggested further litigation is possible.
“While we would like to extensively comment on the ruling, we respect it and we cannot comment on pending or potential future litigation,” spokesperson Lynn Hicks said in an email.
In a separate lawsuit still pending, a number of nearby landowners are challenging Polk County’s zoning approval for the project. That case is set for trial in September.
William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com or 715-573-8166.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa judge sides with The Family Leader, says HQ should be tax exempt
Reporting by William Morris, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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By William Morris, Des Moines Register | USA TODAY Network
