February 2017

UNITED STATES – February 2017 NEW JERSEY - BIG-BOX STORES CAN HAVE THEIR CAKE, AND EAT IT, TOO ............................................................. 2 NEW YORK - 'PROPERTY TAXES ARE BREAKING THE BACK OF THIS STATE': GOV. CUOMO ..................................... 3 CALIFORNIA - WHY IS THE FIRE/EMS TAX SO HIGH?............................................................................................... 4 USA - THREE BIG PROBLEMS WITH SALES TAXES TODAY — AND HOW TO FIX THEM ............................................. 5 IT'S TIME TO SCRAP PROPERTY TAXES ................................................................................................................... 6 ILLINOIS TOPS US IN POPULATION LOSS ................................................................................................................ 7 WISCONSIN - 'DARK STORE' CASES COULD COST MILLIONS IN TAXES .................................................................... 9 WISCONSIN - FIGHTING THE “DARK STORE LOOPHOLE” ...................................................................................... 11 WASHINGTON - TAX CAP MAY BE REMOVED ....................................................................................................... 12 TEXAS BOMA SUPPORTS PROPERTY TAX REFORM EFFORTS THROUGH STATEWIDE ADVOCACY DAY .................. 13 PENNSYLVANIA - SHOP YOUR PROPERTY TAXES AWAY ....................................................................................... 13 OREGON - LAWMAKERS’ DOUBLE PROPERTY TAX ............................................................................................... 14 OREGON - LAWMAKERS SEEK TO UNWIND PARTS OF 1990S PROPERTY TAX REVOLT .......................................... 15 NEW YORK - GOVERNOR INSISTS COMBINING SERVICES WILL LOWER NEW YORK PROPERTY TAXES .................. 16 NEW YORK - FIXING ZOMBIE HOME PROBLEMS LOCALLY, STATEWIDE ................................................................ 17 NEW JERSEY - LONG-DELAYED REVAL TO START SOON ........................................................................................ 18 NEW JERSEY - NJ PROPERTY TAX APPEALS DOWN MORE THAN HALF IN 3 YEARS ................................................ 19 MICHIGAN - DETROIT EXTENDS TIME TO APPEAL PROPERTY VALUATION ........................................................... 20 ILLINOIS - A TAX HERE, A TAX THERE, A TAX EVERYWHERE IS NO WAY TO FIX ILLINOIS ....................................... 21 ILLINOIS HAS HIGHER PROPERTY TAXES THAN EVERY STATE WITH NO INCOME TAX ........................................... 22 FLORIDA - WANT A PROPERTY TAX REFUND? CONSIDER CHALLENGING APPRAISERS’ ASSESSMENTS ................. 26 ALASKA - FORGONE REVENUE THROUGH PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTIONS GROWS ................................................. 27 WISCONSIN - STATE SEEKS WAY TO LIGHTEN IMPACT OF DARK STORES ............................................................. 28 TEXAS LAWMAKERS PRESENT STATISTICS THAT DEFEND PROPERTY TAX CAP BILL .............................................. 31 RHODE ISLAND - COUNCIL MOVES TOWARD SINGLE TAX RATE REPEAL ............................................................... 31 OREGON - CITIES PUSH REFORMS TO INCREASE PROPERTY TAX REVENUES ........................................................ 33 OMAHA - DOUGLAS COUNTY ASSESSOR CONSIDER OPTIONS ON PROPERTY TAXES ............................................ 34 NEBRASKA - ASSESSOR RESPONDS TO GOVERNOR’S PROPERTY TAX PROPOSALS ............................................... 35 TEXAS BILL WOULD EXEMPT ELDERLY FROM PROPERTY TAXES ........................................................................... 36 International Property Tax Institute IPTI Xtracts- The items included in IPTI Xtracts have been extracted from published information. IPTI accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of the information or any opinions expressed in the articles. P a g e | 2 NEBRASKA - GOVERNOR BRINGS PROPERTY TAX PROPOSAL TO YORK ................................................................ 37 PENNSYLVANIA - A FLAWED PROPERTY TAX SWAP IN PENNSYLVANIA ................................................................ 38 NEVADA - FORMER NEVADA LAWMAKERS ON DIFFERENT SIDE OF PROPERTY TAX VOTE AS LOCAL OFFICIALS ... 40 NEBRASKA GOV. RICKETTS TOUTS 'MAJOR' PROPERTY TAX BILL ......................................................................... 41 WASHINGTON - CHANGE IN PROPERTY TAX FORMULA SEEN AS REVENUE STREAM FOR STATE, SCHOOLS ......... 41 WASHINGTON - 'EXTRAORDINARY REVENUE' AND RECORD TAX COLLECTIONS FOR D.C. IN '16 .......................... 43 PENNSYLVANIA - LOCAL MAN STUDIES REASSESSMENTS, SUGGESTS AN AUDIT.................................................. 44 NEW YORK - WHAT IS STAR TAX PROGRAM AND WHO QUALIFIES? .................................................................... 46 NEW YERSEY - GOV. CHRISTIE HAS A LAST SHOT AT MAKING PROPERTY-TAX-REFORM HISTORY, SAYS CARL GOLDEN ............................................................................................................................................................... 47 NEBRASKA - SPECIAL INTERESTS BLUNT PUSH FOR PROPERTY TAX RELIEF .......................................................... 49 ILLINOIS - NE SUPREME COURT HEARS PROPERTY ASSESSMENT CASE ................................................................. 50 ILLINOIS - OPINION: A SOLUTION TO THE PROPERTY TAX PROBLEM ................................................................... 50 FLORIDA - GOVERNOR RICK SCOTT IS PROPOSING SPENDING $558 MILLION MORE ON PUBLIC SCHOOLS THIS COMING YEAR BUT, IT'S NOT THE STATE THAT WOULD BE PUTTING THE MONEY UP, IT'S LOCAL TAXPAYERS. ... 51 TEXAS - HOW MANY LOCAL GOVTS. LEVY A PROPERTY TAX?............................................................................... 52 NEW YORK - DE BLASIO INVOKES TRUMP TO MAKE CASE FOR NYC 'MANSION TAX' ........................................... 53 NEW JERSEY - HOW SHOPPING IN THIS TOWN CAN CUT YOUR PROPERTY TAXES ............................................... 54 CONNECTICUTT - TIME TO EXPLORE A NEW PROPERTY TAX SYSTEM FOR CONNECTICUT .................................... 55 ALASKA - EVALUATING ANCHORAGE PROPERTY TAX ASSESSMENTS ................................................................... 56 WISCONSIN - RETAILERS SEEK TAX CUTS WITH 'DARK STORE' THEORY ................................................................ 56 ILLINOIS - ROCHESTER SCHOOL DISTRICT OPPOSES CREATION OF TIF .................................................................. 59 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ NEW JERSEY - Big-box stores can have their cake, and eat it, too At first glance, having a big-box chain store like Wal-Mart or Lowe's come into town would seem to be a beneficial thing. With the added jobs such stores promise, and the anticipated boost to the property tax base, it seems like a no-lose proposition. But there's another aspect to having these big box stores that many small and mid-size communities don't often consider, and it has to do with property tax assessments. When one of these big-box chains builds a multi-million-dollar store, you'd assume that the amount of property taxes they pay would reflect that multi-million-dollar value. Normally, the taxable value factors in everything from construction costs, to land value, to the value of any lease involved. But, it's not always so straightforward. These days, many big-box chains lower their tax obligations by using a tactic to drive down assessments drastically. It's known as "dark store," and it alleges that a big box has no value except for its specific, initial use. International Property Tax Institute IPTI Xtracts- The items included in IPTI Xtracts have been extracted from published information. IPTI accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of the information or any opinions expressed in the articles. P a g e | 3 A glaring example of this dark-store argument at work comes from Michigan, courtesy of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Several years ago, Lowe's built a $10 million store in Marquette, Mich., with a taxable value set at $5.2 million. After a series of appeals using the dark-store argument, Lowe's drove the assessed value down to $1.5 million a few short years later. When the chains cite the dark-store loophole, they claim that each store is designed to be "functionally obsolete;" that it is a special-use structure, custom built, and not intended for resale or any future leasing. So, when it comes to "comparable value" that is often used to set property assessments, a store's lawyers claim that only thing it can be compared with is a vacant, empty "dark" store. Now, you might think that if a big-box chain decided to leave a specific location, a similar retailer might want to fill the space. But the other factors at play here are non-compete clauses and deed restrictions. These big-box chains place restrictions on their new stores limiting how the building can be used by a future occupant. These restrictions can prohibit not only reuse by direct competitors (a Home Depot moving into a vacated Lowe's, for example), but a wide range of other potential retail uses at a site generally zoned for that purpose. So, a vacated store either remains empty or is converted to a lower-value use like indoor batting cages. Either way, this drastically lowers the value of the property and potentially could reduce values of other retail stores nearby. These tactics are not confined to Michigan. The trend

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