Localities Gain Ground on Big Box Stores in Property Tax Fights

Dozens of property tax appeals by Walmart Inc., Target Corp., Lowe’s, and other big box retailers may evaporate by the end of the year after the Wisconsin Supreme Court shattered the “dark store theory” of property valuation.

The Wisconsin communities of Delavan, Plover, and Wauwatosa won three appeals court rulings in the last 18 months in lawsuits where retailers unsuccessfully wielded the dark store strategy to cut their local tax assessments. Then Delavan, a tiny city 45 miles southwest of Milwaukee, delivered a Waterloo moment to retailers Feb. 16 with the unanimous high court ruling that dismantled much of the ...