HOUSE BILL No. 5455

 

November 13, 2007, Introduced by Reps. Farrah, Pastor, Virgil Smith, Polidori, Clemente, LeBlanc, LaJoy, Hopgood, Kathleen Law and Tobocman and referred to the Committee on Tax Policy.

 

     A bill to amend 1953 PA 189, entitled

 

"An act to provide for the taxation of lessees and users of tax-

exempt property,"

 

by amending section 1 (MCL 211.181), as amended by 1998 PA 244.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 1. (1) Except as provided in this section, if real

 

property exempt for any reason from ad valorem property taxation is

 

leased, loaned, or otherwise made available to and used by a

 

private individual, association, or corporation in connection with

 

a business conducted for profit, the lessee or user of the real

 

property is subject to taxation in the same amount and to the same

 

extent as though the lessee or user owned the real property.

 

     (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to all of the following:

 


     (a) Federal property for which payments are made instead of ad

 

valorem property taxes in amounts equivalent to taxes that might

 

otherwise be lawfully assessed or property of a state-supported

 

educational institution, enumerated in section 4 of article VIII of

 

the state constitution of 1963.

 

     (b) Property that is used as a concession at a public airport,

 

park, market, or similar property and that is available for use by

 

the general public.

 

     (c) Property that is used by the lessee or user only in

 

conjunction with a county fair, community fair, 4-H fair, or state

 

fair of this state, or in conjunction with a special event for

 

which the lessee or user pays a fee to the county fair, community

 

fair, 4-H fair, or state fair. As used in this subdivision,

 

"special event" means an event during which property is occupied by

 

the lessee or user for not more than 14 consecutive days.

 

     (d) For tax days before December 31, 1985, property that is

 

used by the lessee or user in such a manner that the city or

 

township in which the property is located receives revenue under

 

section 17 of the horse racing law of 1995, 1995 PA 279, MCL

 

431.317.

 

     (e) Real property located in a renaissance zone, except a

 

casino, to the extent and for the duration provided in the Michigan

 

renaissance zone act, 1996 PA 376, MCL 125.2681 to 125.2696, except

 

a special assessment or a tax described in section 7ff(2) of the

 

general property tax act, 1893 PA 206, MCL 211.7ff. As used in this

 

subdivision, "casino" means a casino or a parking lot, hotel,

 

motel, or retail store owned or operated by a casino, an affiliate,

 


or an affiliated company, regulated by this state pursuant to the

 

Michigan gaming control and revenue act, the Initiated Law of 1996

 

1996 IL 1, MCL 432.201 to 432.216 432.226.

 

     (f) Real property that is eligible tax reverted property that

 

is used by the lessee or user for a period of time not to exceed

 

the period beginning on December 31 in the year in which the

 

eligible tax reverted property became subject to use by a private

 

individual, association, or corporation in connection with a

 

business conducted for profit until December 31 in the year 5 years

 

after the December 31 in which the eligible tax reverted property

 

first became subject to that use. As used in this subdivision,

 

"eligible tax reverted property" means property that is exempt

 

under section 7gg of the general property tax act, 1893 PA 206, MCL

 

211.7gg.