LANSING, MI-- State Representative Scott Dianda has introduced a bill to mitigate the loss of property taxes when big-box stores win appeals to the Michigan Tax Tribunal.
Recently stores like Lowe’s, Target and Wal-Mart claim their buildings could not be reused for the same purpose and therefore should be taxed as though they were dark and empty. The “dark store” theory has cut thousands of dollars in revenue to local governments.
“Corporations need to pay their fair share for police, fire, and the other local services they demand,” Dianda says. “Instead, they are being rewarded for gaming the state’s tax system.”
Dianda’s bill would create a user fee for corporations who pay lower taxes as the result of an appeal to the tribunal. He says it would recover any revenue lost in the process.
He says, “I hope my colleagues downstate take action on the dark store issue quickly, because it is coming soon to a community near them.”
