Romer Debbas, LLP handles pro-bono matters on an annual basis. One of our pro-bono clients is a church who recently lost their tax exempt status for real estate taxes. The NYC Department of Finance deems certain religious institutions which one property for not-for-profit purposes to be exempt from the collection of real estate taxes. This particular client had lost their tax exempt status which they held for over 40 years due to a failure to properly renew their application with the Dept. of Finance. We were able to file an appeal with the Dept. of Finance and demonstrate that the tax exemption should still be applicable and that the church met the requirements for same. The Dept. of Finance ruled in our favor and this process took over 6 months. The ruling was applied retroactively and the church did not have to pay any property tax associated with this. This matter was handled by Pierre E. Debbas, Esq.