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Racquetball Court Turned Church Loses Tax Exemption

An Illinois man is suing the village of Lake Bluff after it revoked the property tax exemption he had claimed for turning the racquetball court at his lakefront mansion into a church.

The Chicago Tribune ran a story a few days ago on the lawsuit, which was recently highlighted on Professor Paul Caron’s invaluable TaxProf blog. Former banker George Michael (not the singer or sportscaster) is suing the town, as well as Illinois officials, for over $10 million, claiming he is being persecuted for his Armenian heritage.

He had renamed the site of his former racquetball court as the Armenian Church of Lake Bluff. The private church is being used as a place of worship for his ailing wife Susan, who is suffering from multiple sclerosis.

Michael claims that a group of Lake Bluff officials colluded to deny him the tax exemption on his private church. Now it will be up to the courts, and the tax folks, to decide. It's their serve.

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