LANSING Rep. Dave Maturen of Vicksburg says he wants to proceed with his “Dark Stores” legislation, even though a fresh Court of Appeals ruling may accomplish what he wanted to do with his bills.
Big Box retailers have been arguing that because their buildings would be hard to sell because of their size and deed restrictions, that they aren’t worth much and they should be paying a lot less in property taxes.
The Michigan Tax Tribunal agreed, but now the court of appeal has ruled that all properties are taxed at their “highest and best use”, and the Menards, Meijers, Lowes, Walmarts and other big chain stores should be no different.
They have thrown it back to the Tax Tribunal to reevaluate their policy.
Maturen says his legislation would tell them exactly what to do.
Maturen says he hopes the court ruling will accelerate the process of approving his bill, and hopes the speaker will schedule a vote soon.
He says he would still like to see the policy put on the books.
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