An Upper Peninsula town is battling retail giant Walmart over property taxes.
Walmart says the city of Houghton owes the company more than a million dollars in back taxes. The retailer claims its tax should be reduced according to the Dark Store Theory, which bases values on comparable properties that are closed. Walmart brought its case to the Michigan Tax Tribunal in 2018, but the case was put in abeyance when floods ravaged the area and COVID hit. Now Walmart wants reimbursement for 6-years of tax overpayment.
Houghton City Manager Eric Waara says that would decimate city services. He says it’s hard to believe such a huge company is fighting against a town of only 8,000 people.
“One of the most successful companies ever is seeking to lower their property taxes on a small community which bent over backwards to welcome them into this community to do business.” said Waara.
The city has filed a suit against Walmart in federal court, saying it’s in breach of an expansion contract it signed in the 2000s.