Bill > PR26-0561

This resolution declares an emergency situation requiring immediate legislative action to provide exemptions from real property, deed recordation, and deed transfer taxes for properties owned by the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Washington and its parishes. Historically, due to legal limitations at the time of acquisition, many parish properties were legally titled to the Archbishop of Washington, acting as a "corporation sole" (a single legal entity representing the church), even though the individual parishes were the beneficial owners. As modern laws now allow parishes to incorporate and hold property directly, they are seeking to transfer the legal title to their own names. This resolution aims to ensure these transfers, which do not involve a sale or change in beneficial ownership, are exempt from taxes, as they are intended to simply confirm existing ownership and avoid significant financial burdens and administrative complexities that have arisen due to rejected attempts to record these confirmatory deeds.