MADISON – Democratic state senators tried to use a procedural move on Wednesday to pull so-called “dark store” legislation to the floor in an attempt to raise property taxes on local businesses. However, the plan was stopped by their Republican colleagues. Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce Director of Tax, Transportation and Legal Affairs Cory Fish released the following statement commending Republican legislators for opposing higher taxes:
“I applaud all the senators who refused to take up the so-called ‘dark stores’ legislation outside of the typical process. Senate Bill 130 does nothing short of turning the property tax into a local income tax – allowing local governments to tax businesses based on their business value instead of their property value. Proponents of increasing property taxes on all Wisconsin taxpayers continue to trot out the same tired rhetoric that the property tax burden is shifting to residential homeowners. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Businesses pay almost three percent more of the state’s property tax burden than they did 10 years ago.
“Instead of siding with taxpayer-funded lobbyists who want to hike property taxes under the guise of closing a non-existent ‘loophole,’ the legislature should focus on lowering Wisconsin’s property tax burden for everyone and making our taxation system more objective, efficient and fair.”
