2023 Wisconsin Act 12

12,116 Section 116 . 70.50 of the statutes is amended to read:

70.50 Delivery of roll. Except in counties that have a county assessment system under s. 70.99 and in cities of the 1st class and in 2nd class cities that have a board of assessors under s. 70.075 the assessor shall, on or before the first Monday in May, deliver the completed assessment roll and all the sworn statements and valuations of personal property to the clerk of the town, city, or village, who shall file and preserve them in the clerk's office. On or before the first Monday in April, a county assessor under s. 70.99 shall deliver the completed assessment roll and all sworn statements and valuations of personal property to the clerks of the towns, cities, and villages in the county, who shall file and preserve them in the clerk's office.

12,117 Section 117 . 70.52 of the statutes is amended to read:

70.52 Clerks to examine and correct rolls. Each city, village, and town clerk upon receipt of the assessment roll shall carefully examine the roll. The clerk shall correct all double assessments, imperfect descriptions, and other errors apparent on the roll, and correct the value of parcels of real property not liable to taxation. The clerk shall add to the roll any parcel of real property not listed on the assessment roll or item of personal property omitted from the roll and immediately notify the assessors of the additions and omissions. The assessors shall immediately view and value the omitted property and certify the valuation to the clerk. The clerk shall enter the valuation and property classification on the roll, and the valuation shall be final. To enable the clerk to properly correct defective descriptions, the clerk may request aid, when necessary, from the county surveyor, whose fees for the services rendered shall be paid by the city, village, or town.

12,118 Section 118 . 70.53 (1) (a) of the statutes is repealed.

12,119 Section 119 . 70.65 (2) (a) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:

70.65 (2) (a) 2. Identify For assessments made before January 1, 2024, identify the name and address of the owners of all taxable personal property within the taxation district and the assessed value of each owner's taxable personal property.

12,120 Section 120 . 70.65 (2) (b) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

70.65 (2) (b) (intro.) With respect to each description of real property and each owner of taxable personal property and the personal property assessments made before January 1, 2024:

12,121 Section 121 . 70.68 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:

70.68 (1) Collection in certain cities. In For taxes levied before January 1, 2024, in cities authorized to act under s. 74.87, the chief of police shall collect all state, county, city, school, and other taxes due on personal property as shall then remain unpaid, and the chief of police shall possess all the powers given by law to town treasurers for the collection of such taxes, and be subject to the liabilities and entitled to the same fees as town treasurers in such cases, but such fees shall be turned over to the city treasurer and become a part of the general fund.

12,122 Section 122 . 70.73 (1) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

70.73 (1) (b) If a town, village, or city clerk or treasurer discovers that personal property has been assessed to the wrong person for assessments made before January 1, 2024, or 2 or more parcels of land belonging to different persons have been erroneously assessed together on the tax roll, the clerk or treasurer shall notify the assessor and all parties interested, if the parties are residents of the county, by notice in writing to appear at the clerk's office at some time, not less than 5 days thereafter, to correct the assessment roll.

12,123 Section 123 . 70.73 (1) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:

70.73 (1) (c) At the time and place designated in the notice given under par. (b), the assessment roll shall be corrected by entering the correct names of the persons liable to assessment, both as to real and personal property, describing each parcel of land and giving the proper valuation to each parcel separately owned. The total valuation given to the separate tracts of real estate shall be equal to the valuation given to the same property when the several parcels were assessed together.

12,124 Section 124 . 70.73 (1) (d) of the statutes is amended to read:

70.73 (1) (d) The valuation of parcels of land or correction of names of persons whose personal property is assessed under this subsection may be made at any time before the tax roll is returned to the county treasurer for the year in which the tax is levied. The valuation or correction of names, when made under this subsection, shall be held just and correct and be final and conclusive.

12,125 Section 125 . 70.84 of the statutes is amended to read:

70.84 Inequalities may be corrected in subsequent year. If any such reassessment cannot be completed in time to take the place of the original assessment made in such district for said year, the clerk of the district shall levy and apportion the taxes for that year upon the basis of the original assessment roll, and when the reassessment is completed the inequalities in the taxes levied under the original assessment shall be remedied and compensated in the levy and apportionment of taxes in such district next following the completion of said reassessment in the following manner: Each tract of real estate, and, as to personal property assessments made before January 1, 2024, each taxpayer, whose tax shall be determined by such reassessment to have been relatively too high, shall be credited a sum equal to the amount of taxes charged on the original assessment in excess of the amount which would have been charged had such reassessment been made in time; and each tract of real estate, and, as to personal property assessments made before January 1, 2024, each taxpayer, whose tax shall be determined by such reassessment to have been relatively too low, shall be charged, in addition to all other taxes, a sum equal to the difference between the amount of taxes charged upon such unequal original assessment and the amount which would have been charged had such reassessment been made in time. The department of revenue, or its authorized agent, shall at any time have access to all assessment and tax rolls herein referred to for the purpose of assisting the local clerk and in order that the results of the reassessment may be carried into effect.

12,126 Section 126 . 70.855 (1) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

70.855 (1) Applicability. (intro.) The department of revenue shall assess real and personal property assessed as commercial property under s. 70.32 (2) (a) 2. if all of the following apply:

12,127 Section 127 . 70.855 (1) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

70.855 (1) (a) The property owner and the governing body of the municipality where the property is located submit a written request to the department on or before March 1 of the year of the assessment to have the department assess the property owner's real and personal commercial property located in the municipality.

12,128 Section 128 . 70.855 (1) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

70.855 (1) (b) The written request submitted under par. (a) specifies the items of personal property and parcels of real property for the department's assessment.

12,129 Section 129 . 70.995 (1) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

70.995 (1) (a) In this section “manufacturing property" includes all lands, buildings, structures and other real property, as defined in s. 70.03, in this state, used in manufacturing, assembling, processing, fabricating, making, or milling tangible personal property for profit. Manufacturing property also includes warehouses, storage facilities, and office structures in this state when the predominant use of the warehouses, storage facilities, or offices is in support of the manufacturing property, and all personal property owned or used by any person engaged in this state in any of the activities mentioned, and used in the activity, including raw materials, supplies, machinery, equipment, work in process and finished inventory when located at the site of the activity. Establishments engaged in assembling component parts of manufactured products are considered manufacturing establishments if the new product is neither a structure nor other fixed improvement. Materials processed by a manufacturing establishment include products of agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, and quarrying. For the purposes of this section, establishments which engage in mining metalliferous minerals are considered manufacturing establishments.

12,130 Section 130 . 70.995 (4) of the statutes is amended to read:

70.995 (4) Whenever real property or tangible personal property is used for one, or some combination, of the processes mentioned in sub. (3) and also for other purposes, the department of revenue, if satisfied that there is substantial use in one or some combination of such processes, may assess the property under this section. For all purposes of this section the department of revenue shall have sole discretion for the determination of what is substantial use and what description of real property or what unit of tangible personal property shall constitute “the property" to be included for assessment purposes, and, in connection herewith, the department may include in a real property unit, real property owned by different persons. Vacant property designed for use in manufacturing, assembling, processing, fabricating, making, or milling tangible property for profit may be assessed under this section or under s. 70.32 (1), and the period of vacancy may not be the sole ground for making that determination. In those specific instances where a portion of a description of real property includes manufacturing property rented or leased and operated by a separate person which does not satisfy the substantial use qualification for the entire property, the local assessor shall assess the entire real property description and all personal property not exempt under s. 70.11 (27). The applicable portions of the standard manufacturing property report form under sub. (12) as they relate to manufacturing machinery and equipment shall be submitted by such person.

12,131 Section 131 . 70.995 (5) of the statutes is amended to read:

70.995 (5) The department of revenue shall assess all property of manufacturing establishments included under subs. (1) and (2), except property not contiguous with or located within 1,000 feet of the parcel on which the production process, as defined in s. 70.11 (27) (a) 5., occurs, as of the close of January 1 of each year, if on or before March 1 of that year the department has classified the property as manufacturing or the owner of the property has requested, in writing, that the department make such a classification and the department later does so. A change in ownership, location, or name of the manufacturing establishment does not necessitate a new request. In assessing lands from which metalliferous minerals are being extracted and valued for purposes of the tax under s. 70.375, the value of the metalliferous mineral content of such lands shall be excluded.

12,132 Section 132 . 70.995 (5n) of the statutes is created to read:

70.995 (5n) (a) If the department of revenue determines that an establishment is engaged in manufacturing, as described in subs. (1), (2), and (3), the department may classify the establishment as manufacturing. The establishment shall submit a written request on or before July 1 of the year for which classification is desired, as provided under s. 71.07 (5n) (a) 9. c. or 71.28 (5n) (a) 9. c. Any establishment classified as manufacturing prior to January 1, 2024, is presumed to be engaged in manufacturing, as described in subs. (1), (2), and (3), and need not submit a request as provided in this paragraph.

(b) The department may at any time investigate or audit requests submitted under par. (a) and may revoke a classification. A revocation under this paragraph may not apply retroactively, but shall take effect on the first day of the establishment's taxable year following the year in which the department issues a revocation. An establishment that submits a request under par. (a) shall notify the department within 60 days of any termination of manufacturing activity.

(c) On or before December 31 of the year in which a request is timely submitted under par. (a), the department shall issue a notice of determination responding to the timely request. The department may, in its sole discretion, issue a notice of determination by December 31 for requests received after July 1 of the year in which classification is desired. The notice shall be in writing and shall be sent by 1st class mail or electronic mail. In addition, the notice shall specify that objections to the decision shall be filed with the state board of assessors no later than 60 days after the date of the notice, that a fee of $200 shall be paid when the objection is filed, and that the objection is not filed until the fee is paid.

(d) For purposes of this subsection, an objection is considered timely filed if received by the state board of assessors no later than 60 days after the date of the notice or sent to the state board of assessors by U.S. postal service certified mail in a properly addressed envelope, with postage paid, that is postmarked before midnight of the last day for filing. Neither the board nor the tax appeals commission may waive the requirement that objections be in writing.

(e) The state board of assessors shall investigate any objection timely filed under par. (d) if the fee specified under par. (c) is paid. The board shall notify the person objecting or the person's agent of its determination by 1st class mail or electronic mail.

(f) If a determination of the state board of assessors under par. (e) results in an establishment not being classified as manufacturing, the person having been notified of the determination shall be deemed to have accepted the determination unless the person files a petition for review with the clerk of the tax appeals commission, as provided under s. 73.01 (5) and the rules of practice of the tax appeals commission.

12,133 Section 133 . 70.995 (7) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

70.995 (7) (b) Each 5 years, or more frequently if the department of revenue's workload permits and if in the department's judgment it is desirable, the department of revenue shall complete a field investigation or on-site appraisal at full value under ss. s. 70.32 (1) and 70.34 of all manufacturing real property in this state.

12,134 Section 134 . 70.995 (8) (b) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:

70.995 (8) (b) 1. The department of revenue shall annually notify each manufacturer assessed under this section and the municipality in which the manufacturing property is located of the full value of all real and personal property owned by the manufacturer. The notice shall be in writing and shall be sent by 1st class mail or electronic mail. In addition, the notice shall specify that objections to valuation, amount, or taxability must be filed with the state board of assessors no later than 60 days after the date of the notice of assessment, that objections to a change from assessment under this section to assessment under s. 70.32 (1) must be filed no later than 60 days after the date of the notice, that the fee under par. (c) 1. or (d) must be paid and that the objection is not filed until the fee is paid. For purposes of this subdivision, an objection is considered timely filed if received by the state board of assessors no later than 60 days after the date of the notice or sent to the state board of assessors by certified mail in a properly addressed envelope, with postage paid, that is postmarked before midnight of the last day for filing. A statement shall be attached to the assessment roll indicating that the notices required by this section have been mailed and failure to receive the notice does not affect the validity of the assessments, the resulting tax on real or personal property, the procedures of the tax appeals commission or of the state board of assessors, or the enforcement of delinquent taxes by statutory means.

12,135 Section 135 . 70.995 (12) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

70.995 (12) (a) The department of revenue shall prescribe a standard manufacturing property report form that shall be submitted annually for each real estate parcel and each personal property account on or before March 1 by all manufacturers whose property is assessed under this section. The report form shall contain all information considered necessary by the department and shall include, without limitation, income and operating statements, fixed asset schedules, and a report of new construction or demolition. Failure to submit the report shall result in denial of any right of redetermination by the state board of assessors or the tax appeals commission. If any property is omitted or understated in the manufacturing real estate assessment roll in any of the next 5 previous years, or in a manufacturing personal property assessment roll made before January 1, 2024, the assessor shall enter the value of the omitted or understated property once for each previous year of the omission or understatement. The assessor shall affix a just valuation to each entry for a former year as it should have been assessed according to the assessor's best judgment. Taxes shall be apportioned and collected on the tax roll for each entry, on the basis of the net tax rate for the year of the omission, taking into account credits under s. 79.10. In the case of omitted property, interest shall be added at the rate of 0.0267 percent per day for the period of time between the date when the form is required to be submitted and the date when the assessor affixes the just valuation. In the case of underpayments determined after an objection under sub. (8) (d), interest shall be added at the average annual discount interest rate determined by the last auction of 6-month U.S. treasury bills before the objection per day for the period of time between the date when the tax was due and the date when it is paid.

12,136 Section 136 . 71.07 (5n) (a) 5. a. of the statutes is amended to read:

71.07 (5n) (a) 5. a. “Manufacturing property factor" means a fraction, the numerator of which is the average value of the claimant's real and personal property assessed under s. 70.995 land and depreciable property, owned or rented and used in this state by the claimant during the taxable year to manufacture qualified production property, and the denominator of which is the average value of all the claimant's real and personal land and depreciable property owned or rented during the taxable year and used by the claimant to manufacture qualified production property.

12,137 Section 137 . 71.07 (5n) (a) 5. d. of the statutes is repealed.

12,138 Section 138 . 71.07 (5n) (a) 9. (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

71.07 (5n) (a) 9. (intro.) “Qualified production property" means either any of the following:

12,139 Section 139 . 71.07 (5n) (a) 9. a. of the statutes is amended to read:

71.07 (5n) (a) 9. a. Tangible personal property manufactured in whole or in part by the claimant on property that is located in this state and assessed as manufacturing property under s. 70.995. Tangible personal property manufactured in this state may only be qualified production property if it is manufactured on property approved to be classified as manufacturing real property for purposes of s. 70.995, even if it is not eligible to be listed on the department's manufacturing roll until January 1 of the following year.

12,140 Section 140 . 71.07 (5n) (a) 9. c. of the statutes is created to read:

71.07 (5n) (a) 9. c. Tangible personal property manufactured in whole or in part by the claimant at an establishment that is located in this state and classified as manufacturing under s. 70.995 (5n). A person wishing to classify the person's establishment as manufacturing under this subd. 9. c. shall file an application in the form and manner prescribed by the department no later than July 1 of the taxable year for which the person wishes to claim the credit under this subsection, pursuant to s. 70.995 (5n). The department shall make a determination and provide written notice by December 31 of the year in which the application is filed. A determination on the classification under this subd. 9. c. may be appealed as provided under s. 70.995 (5n).

12,141 Section 141 . 71.07 (5n) (d) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:

71.07 (5n) (d) 2. For purposes of determining a claimant's eligible qualified production activities income under this subsection, the claimant shall multiply the claimant's qualified production activities income from property manufactured by the claimant by the manufacturing property factor and qualified production activities income from property produced, grown, or extracted by the claimant by the agriculture property factor. This subdivision does not apply if the claimant's entire qualified production activities income results from the sale of tangible personal property that was manufactured, produced, grown, or extracted wholly in this state by the claimant.

12,142 Section 142. 71.07 (6e) (a) 5. of the statutes is amended to read:

71.07 (6e) (a) 5. “Property taxes" means real and personal property taxes, exclusive of special assessments, delinquent interest, and charges for service, paid by a claimant, and the claimant's spouse if filing a joint return, on the eligible veteran's or unremarried surviving spouse's principal dwelling in this state during the taxable year for which credit under this subsection is claimed, less any property taxes paid which are properly includable as a trade or business expense under section 162 of the Internal Revenue Code. If the principal dwelling on which the taxes were paid is owned by 2 or more persons or entities as joint tenants or tenants in common or is owned by spouses as marital property, “property taxes" is that part of property taxes paid that reflects the ownership percentage of the claimant, except that this limitation does not apply to spouses who file a joint return. If the principal dwelling is sold during the taxable year, the “property taxes" for the seller and buyer shall be the amount of the tax prorated to each in the closing agreement pertaining to the sale or, if not so provided for in the closing agreement, the tax shall be prorated between the seller and buyer in proportion to months of their respective ownership. “Property taxes" includes monthly municipal permit fees in respect to a principal dwelling collected under s. 66.0435 (3) (c).

12,143 Section 143 . 71.07 (9) (a) 3. of the statutes is amended to read:

71.07 (9) (a) 3. “Property taxes" means real and personal property taxes, exclusive of special assessments, delinquent interest and charges for service, paid by a claimant on the claimant's principal dwelling during the taxable year for which credit under this subsection is claimed, less any property taxes paid which are properly includable as a trade or business expense under section 162 of the Internal Revenue Code. If the principal dwelling on which the taxes were paid is owned by 2 or more persons or entities as joint tenants or tenants in common or is owned by spouses as marital property, “property taxes" is that part of property taxes paid that reflects the ownership percentage of the claimant. If the principal dwelling is sold during the taxable year the “property taxes" for the seller and buyer shall be the amount of the tax prorated to each in the closing agreement pertaining to the sale or, if not so provided for in the closing agreement, the tax shall be prorated between the seller and buyer in proportion to months of their respective ownership. “Property taxes" includes monthly municipal permit fees in respect to a principal dwelling collected under s. 66.0435 (3) (c).

12,144 Section 144 . 71.17 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:

71.17 (2) Lien on trust estate; income taxes levied against beneficiary. All income taxes levied against the income of beneficiaries shall be a lien on that portion of the trust estate or interest therein from which the income taxed is derived, and such taxes shall be paid by the fiduciary, if not paid by the distributee, before the same become delinquent. Every person who, as a fiduciary under the provisions of this subchapter, pays an income tax shall have all the rights and remedies of reimbursement for any taxes assessed against him or her or paid by him or her in such capacity, as provided in s. 70.19 (1), 2021 stats., and s. 70.19 (2), 2021 stats.

12,145 Section 145 . 71.28 (5n) (a) 5. a. of the statutes is amended to read:

71.28 (5n) (a) 5. a. “Manufacturing property factor" means a fraction, the numerator of which is the average value of the claimant's real and personal property assessed under s. 70.995 land and depreciable property, owned or rented and used in this state by the claimant during the taxable year to manufacture qualified production property, and the denominator of which is the average value of all the claimant's real and personal land and depreciable property owned or rented during the taxable year and used by the claimant to manufacture qualified production property.

12,146 Section 146 . 71.28 (5n) (a) 5. d. of the statutes is repealed.

12,147 Section 147 . 71.28 (5n) (a) 9. (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

71.28 (5n) (a) 9. (intro.) “Qualified production property" means either any of the following:

12,148 Section 148 . 71.28 (5n) (a) 9. a. of the statutes is amended to read:

71.28 (5n) (a) 9. a. Tangible personal property manufactured in whole or in part by the claimant on property that is located in this state and assessed as manufacturing property under s. 70.995. Tangible personal property manufactured in this state may only be qualified production property if it is manufactured on property approved to be classified as manufacturing real property for purposes of s. 70.995, even if it is not eligible to be listed on the department's manufacturing roll until January 1 of the following year.

12,149 Section 149 . 71.28 (5n) (a) 9. c. of the statutes is created to read:

71.28 (5n) (a) 9. c. Tangible personal property manufactured in whole or in part by the claimant with an establishment that is located in this state and classified as manufacturing under s. 70.995 (5n). A person wishing to classify the person's establishment as manufacturing under this subd. 9. c. shall file an application in the form and manner prescribed by the department no later than July 1 of the taxable year for which the person wishes to claim the credit under this subsection, pursuant to s. 70.995 (5n). The department shall make a determination and provide written notice by December 31 of the year in which the application is filed. A determination on the classification under this subd. 9. c. may be appealed as provided under s. 70.995 (5n).

12,150 Section 150. 71.28 (5n) (d) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:

71.28 (5n) (d) 2. Except as provided in subd. 3., for purposes of determining a claimant's eligible qualified production activities income under this subsection, the claimant shall multiply the claimant's qualified production activities income from property manufactured by the claimant by the manufacturing property factor and qualified production activities income from property produced, grown, or extracted by the claimant by the agriculture property factor. This subdivision does not apply if the claimant's entire qualified production activities income results from the sale of tangible personal property that was manufactured, produced, grown, or extracted wholly in this state by the claimant.

12,151 Section 151 . 71.52 (7) of the statutes is amended to read:

71.52 (7) “Property taxes accrued" means real or personal property taxes or monthly municipal permit fees under s. 66.0435 (3) (c), exclusive of special assessments, delinquent interest and charges for service, levied on a homestead owned by the claimant or a member of the claimant's household. “Real or personal property taxes" means those levied under ch. 70, less the tax credit, if any, afforded in respect of such property by s. 79.10. If a homestead is owned by 2 or more persons or entities as joint tenants or tenants in common or is owned as marital property or survivorship marital property and one or more such persons, entities or owners is not a member of the claimant's household, property taxes accrued is that part of property taxes accrued levied on such homestead, reduced by the tax credit under s. 79.10, that reflects the ownership percentage of the claimant and the claimant's household, except that if a homestead is owned by 2 or more natural persons or if 2 or more natural persons have an interest in a homestead, one or more of whom is not a member of the claimant's household, and the claimant has a present interest, as that term is used in s. 700.03 (1), in the homestead and is required by the terms of a will that transferred the homestead or interest in the homestead to the claimant to pay the entire amount of property taxes levied on the homestead, property taxes accrued is property taxes accrued levied on such homestead, reduced by the tax credit under s. 79.10. A marital property agreement or unilateral statement under ch. 766 has no effect in computing property taxes accrued for a person whose homestead is not the same as the homestead of that person's spouse. For purposes of this subsection, property taxes are “levied" when the tax roll is delivered to the local treasurer for collection. If a homestead is sold or purchased during the calendar year of the levy, the property taxes accrued for the seller and the buyer are the amount of the tax levy prorated to each in proportion to the periods of time each both owned and occupied the homestead during the year to which the claim relates. The seller may use the closing agreement pertaining to the sale of the homestead, the property tax bill for the year before the year to which the claim relates or the property tax bill for the year to which the claim relates as the basis for computing property taxes accrued, but those taxes are allowable only for the portion of the year during which the seller owned and occupied the sold homestead. If a household owns and occupies 2 or more homesteads in the same calendar year, property taxes accrued is the sum of the prorated property taxes accrued attributable to the household for each of such homesteads. If the household owns and occupies the homestead for part of the calendar year and rents a homestead for part of the calendar year, it may include both the proration of taxes on the homestead owned and rent constituting property taxes accrued with respect to the months the homestead is rented in computing the amount of the claim under s. 71.54 (1). If a homestead is an integral part of a multipurpose or multidwelling building, property taxes accrued are the percentage of the property taxes accrued on that part of the multipurpose or multidwelling building occupied by the household as a principal residence plus that same percentage of the property taxes accrued on the land surrounding it, not exceeding one acre, that is reasonably necessary for use of the multipurpose or multidwelling building as a principal residence, except as the limitations of s. 71.54 (2) (b) apply. If the homestead is part of a farm, property taxes accrued are the property taxes accrued on up to 120 acres of the land contiguous to the claimant's principal residence and include the property taxes accrued on all improvements to real property located on such land, except as the limitations of s. 71.54 (2) (b) apply.

12,152 Section 152 . 73.01 (5) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

73.01 (5) (a) Any person who is aggrieved by a determination of the state board of assessors under s. 70.995 (5n) or (8) or who has filed a petition for redetermination with the department of revenue and who is aggrieved by the redetermination of the department of revenue may, within 60 days of the determination of the state board of assessors or of the department of revenue or, in all other cases, within 60 days after the redetermination but not thereafter, file with the clerk of the commission a petition for review of the action of the department of revenue and the number of copies of the petition required by rule adopted by the commission. Any person who is aggrieved by a determination of the department of transportation under s. 341.405 or 341.45 may, within 30 days after the determination of the department of transportation, file with the clerk of the commission a petition for review of the action of the department of transportation and the number of copies of the petition required by rule adopted by the commission. If a municipality appeals, its appeal shall set forth that the appeal has been authorized by an order or resolution of its governing body and the appeal shall be verified by a member of that governing body as pleadings in courts of record are verified. The clerk of the commission shall transmit one copy to the department of revenue, or to the department of transportation, and to each party. In the case of appeals from manufacturing property assessments, the person assessed shall be a party to a proceeding initiated by a municipality. At the time of filing the petition, the petitioner shall pay to the commission a $25 filing fee. The commission shall deposit the fee in the general fund. Within 30 days after such transmission the department of revenue, except for petitions objecting to manufacturing property assessments, or the department of transportation, shall file with the clerk of the commission an original and the number of copies of an answer to the petition required by rule adopted by the commission and shall serve one copy on the petitioner or the petitioner's attorney or agent. Within 30 days after service of the answer, the petitioner may file and serve a reply in the same manner as the petition is filed. Any person entitled to be heard by the commission under s. 76.38 (12) (a), 1993 stats., or s. 76.39 (4) (c) or 76.48 may file a petition with the commission within the time and in the manner provided for the filing of petitions in income or franchise tax cases. Such papers may be served as a circuit court summons is served or by certified mail. For the purposes of this subsection, a petition for review is considered timely filed if mailed by certified mail in a properly addressed envelope, with postage duly prepaid, which envelope is postmarked before midnight of the last day for filing.

12,153 Section 153 . 73.03 (77) of the statutes is created to read:

73.03 (77) To annually produce a comparative local government spending report from information received under s. 73.10 and to create and maintain a web page on its Internet site to display the information contained in the report.

12,154 Section 154 . 76.02 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:

76.02 (1) “Air carrier company" means any person engaged in the business of transportation in aircraft of persons or property for hire on regularly scheduled flights, except an air carrier company whose property is exempt from taxation under s. 70.11 (42) (b) 76.074 (2). In this subsection, “aircraft" means a completely equipped operating unit, including spare flight equipment, used as a means of conveyance in air commerce.

12,155 Section 155 . 76.025 (5) of the statutes is created to read:

76.025 (5) Nothing in this chapter or ch. 70 shall be construed as providing an exemption for personal property for entities regulated under this chapter, except for the exemptions under ss. 70.11 (21), (39), and (39m), 70.112 (4) (b) and (5), and 76.074, and for such motor vehicles as are exempt under s. 70.112 (5).

12,156 Section 156 . 76.03 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:

76.03 (1) The property, both real and personal, including all rights, franchises and privileges used in and necessary to the prosecution of the business of any company enumerated in s. 76.02 shall be deemed personal property for the purposes of taxation, and shall be valued and assessed together as a unit.

12,157 Section 157 . 76.07 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:

76.07 (2) Relation to state valuation; description. The value of the property of each of said companies company for assessment shall be made on the same basis and for the same period of time, as near as may be, as the value of the general property of the state is ascertained and determined. The department shall prepare an assessment roll and place thereon after the name of each of said companies company assessed, the following general description of the property of such company, to wit which the department shall deem and hold to include the entire property and franchises of the company specified and all title and interest therein: “Real estate, right-of-way, tracks, stations, terminals, appurtenances, rolling stock, equipment, franchises, and all other real estate and personal property of said the company," in the case of railroads, and “Real estate, right-of-way, poles, wires, conduits, cables, devices, appliances, instruments, franchises, and all other real and personal property of said the company," in the case of conservation and regulation companies, and “Real estate, appurtenances, rolling stock, equipment, franchises, and all other real estate and personal property of said the company," in the case of air carrier companies, and “Land and land rights, structures, improvements, mains, pumping and regulation equipment, services, appliances, instruments, franchises, and all other real and personal property of said the company," in the case of pipeline companies, which description shall be deemed and held to include the entire property and franchises of the company specified and all title and interest therein.

12,158 Section 158 . 76.07 (4g) (a) 10. of the statutes is amended to read:

76.07 (4g) (a) 10. Determine the depreciated cost of road real property owned or rented by the company and used in the operation of the company's business in this state.

12,159 Section 159 . 76.07 (4g) (a) 11. and 12. of the statutes are repealed.