WILMINGTON — Port City Daily continues to count down its most popularly read stories of 2024, as assessed by analytics.
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The seventh most highly read revolved around reporting on Novant as a nonprofit hospital that also invests in offshore tax havens.
In April, Port City Daily ran a piece about one of the biggest healthcare networks in the Southeast having put hundreds of millions in the Caribbean for more than a decade. Some leading experts expressed concern over the move.
A Port City Daily review of Novant Health Inc.’s financial disclosures found the firm invested more than $525 million in the Caribbean and Central America as of its most recent complete filing in 2022. Earlier filings specified Novant’s financial involvement in Bermuda — long considered one of the top tax havens in the world.
“It’s disappointing that an entity that was created by the taxpayers for Forsyth County [where Novant headquarters are based] — that doesn’t pay property tax, doesn’t pay income tax, and doesn’t pay sales tax — wants to invest in tax havens instead of investing back in our own state,” Treasurer Dale Folwell said to Port City Daily Tuesday.
PCD asked Novant what countries and types of investments are included in the $525 million and if it believes its offshore investment strategy is aligned with its nonprofit designation. Beyond sending a press release for Novant’s most recent audited financial report from April 1, spokesperson Julian March said the nonprofit had “nothing to add at this time.”
Novant’s integrated network offers health services in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Virginia, and operates 19 health centers, including the New Hanover Regional Medical Center, Pender Medical Center, and Brunswick Medical Center in the tri-county region. According to the April 1 report, the nonprofit provided more than $1.6 billion in total community benefit, such as financial assistance to patients.
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