Doyle Signs Bill Closing Property Tax Loophole

Governor Doyle signed into law a bill that fixes a business tax loophole that exempted waste treatment facilities from the property tax.

Bill sponsors Senator Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay) and Senator Robert Cowles (R-Allouez) have said that without the new law, municipalities and school districts could have lost $2 billion.

Originally the tax exemption law was directed toward waste treatment and recycling industries, but a new interpretation by a Dane County Court - dubbed the Newark Decision - exempted almost all physical plant and equipment from taxes, leading to fears of major shortfalls in property tax revenue.

The bill to close the loophole moved quickly through the Senate and Assembly. Doyle signed it August 8, 2007, at the Brown County Courthouse in Green Bay.

Posted August 9, 2007