Marshfield Walmart Sues City Regarding Property Taxes
Thursday, July 30th, 2020 -- 9:09 AM
(Marshfield News Herald) -Walmart officials want Marshfield to cut the taxes the store pays to the city by more than half, according to court records.An attorney with Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin and Brown, a Milwaukee-based law firm, filed a civil case against Marshfield on Thursday in Marathon County Circuit Court. The city has assessed the Marshfield Walmart at $10.7 million in property value, according to the civil complaint, which states the company believes the store is worth $5 million. The lawsuit is the latest in a string of cases filed across the state as mainly large national retailers take advantage of a so-called "dark store loophole" in Wisconsin tax law. The concept essentially allows big-box stores to argue their properties should be assessed at the same value as similarly sized but empty stores, disregarding the added value of ongoing business operations. Marshfield Administrator Steve Barg said the city has been in negotiations with Walmart regarding the assessment of its Marshfield store.
The company had not notified the city of the lawsuit as of Tuesday, Barg said. The company is talking about an operating store in Marshfield and not an empty building, Barg said. Walmart wants the city to refund the "excessive real estate taxes imposed" on the store plus interest, according to the lawsuit. At the city's current tax rate, the city would lose about $47,000 in taxes annually, Barg said. It would add up, he said. The city''s general fund is about $22.5 million a year. The city will have 20 days after Walmart's attorneys officially serve the city with papers to respond to the complaint.
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