Chapter 79

79.05(2) (2) A municipality is eligible for a payment under sub. (3) if it fulfills all of the following requirements:

79.05(2)(a) (a) Its property tax levy rate established during the year before the statement under s. 79.015 is greater than 5 mills.

79.05(2)(c) (c) Its municipal budget; exclusive of principal and interest on long-term debt and exclusive of revenue sharing payments under s. 66.0305, payments of premiums under s. 66.0137 (5) (c) 1. and 1m., revenues generated from a tax imposed under s. 77.701, payments received under s. 79.038, expenditures of payments due to the termination of a tax incremental district under s. 79.096 (3), recycling fee payments under s. 289.645, expenditures of grant payments under s. 16.297 (1m), unreimbursed expenses related to an emergency declared under s. 323.10, expenditures from moneys received pursuant to P.L. 111-5, grants received from the state or federal government for the purpose of providing law enforcement, fire protection, or emergency medical services, and expenditures made pursuant to a purchasing agreement with a school district whereby the municipality makes purchases on behalf of the school district; for the year of the statement under s. 79.015 increased over its municipal budget as adjusted under sub. (6); exclusive of principal and interest on long-term debt and exclusive of revenue sharing payments under s. 66.0305, payments of premiums under s. 66.0137 (5) (c) 1. and 1m., revenues generated from a tax imposed under s. 77.701, payments received under s. 79.038, expenditures of payments due to the termination of a tax incremental district under s. 79.096 (3), recycling fee payments under s. 289.645, expenditures of grant payments under s. 16.297 (1m), unreimbursed expenses related to an emergency declared under s. 323.10, expenditures from moneys received pursuant to P.L. 111-5, grants received from the state or federal government for the purpose of providing law enforcement, fire protection, or emergency medical services, and expenditures made pursuant to a purchasing agreement with a school district whereby the municipality makes purchases on behalf of the school district; for the year before that year by less than the sum of the inflation factor and the valuation factor, rounded to the nearest 0.10 percent.

79.05(2m) (2m) Annually, on October 1, the department of revenue shall certify the appropriate percentage change in the consumer price index that is to be used in the requirement under sub. (1) (am) to the joint committee on finance.

79.05(3) (3) Each municipality that qualifies under sub. (2) shall receive a payment calculated as follows:

79.05(3)(a) (a) Subtract 5 mills from the municipality’s property tax levy rate.

79.05(3)(b) (b) Multiply the amount under par. (a) by the municipality’s full value.

79.05(3)(c) (c) Divide the amount under par. (b) by the total of the amounts under par. (b) for all municipalities that qualify.

79.05(3)(d) (d) Multiply the amount under par. (c) by the amount for the year under s. 79.01 (1), 2021 stats.

79.05(4) (4) Notwithstanding subs. (2) and (3), in 2025, each municipality shall receive a payment under this section that is equal to the amount of the payment received by the municipality under this section in 2024.

79.05(5) (5) No municipality may, for the purpose of qualifying for a payment under this section, establish a fund, other than a general fund, that does not conform to generally accepted accounting principles promulgated by the governmental accounting standards board or its successor bodies.

79.05(6) (6) 

79.05(6)(a) (a) If a municipality transfers to another governmental unit responsibility for providing any service that the municipality provided in the preceding year, its budget for the preceding year shall be decreased to reflect the cost that the municipality incurred to provide that service, as determined by the department of revenue.

79.05(6)(b) (b) If a municipality increases the services that it provides by adding responsibility for providing a service transferred to it from another governmental unit in any year, its budget for the preceding year shall be increased to reflect the cost of that service, as determined by the department of revenue.

79.05(6)(c) (c) If a municipality receives payments from another governmental unit for providing a service to that other governmental unit, pursuant to a contract with the municipality, the municipality receiving the payments shall not include the amounts of the payments nor the costs for providing the service in its budget for the year in which it receives the payments, for the purpose of determining eligibility under sub. (2) (c).

79.05(7) (7) 

79.05(7)(a) (a) Beginning with the distributions in 2018 and ending with the distributions in 2022, the annual payment under this section to the village of Maine shall be the amount otherwise determined for the village under this section, plus $583,000.

79.05(7)(b) (b) Beginning with the distributions in 2018 and ending with the distributions in 2022, the annual payment under this section to the city of Janesville shall be the amount otherwise determined for the city under this section, plus $583,000.

79.05 History History: 1989 a. 336; 1991 a. 39, 61; 1993 a. 16; 1999 a. 9; 1999 a. 150 s. 672; 2001 a. 16; 2009 a. 11, 28; 2011 a. 32, 106, 258; 2013 a. 20, 165; 2015 a. 55; 2017 a. 58, 59; 2019 a. 19; 2021 a. 1, 61; 2023 a. 12, 19.

79.05 Cross-reference Cross-reference: See also ch. Tax 19, Wis. adm. code.

79.08 79.08 Corrections. If the department of administration or the department of revenue determines by August 15 of the year following any distribution under this subchapter that there was an overpayment or underpayment made in any certification by the department of revenue or resulting from populations changed as a result of a final court determination or a census determination under s. 16.96 (2) (dm) or (e) or in the distribution by the department of administration, the overpayment or underpayment shall be corrected as provided in this section. No corrections to the elements of any distribution may be made after August 15 of the year following the distribution. Any overpayment shall be corrected by reducing the subsequent year’s distribution under this subchapter. Any underpayment shall be corrected by increasing the subsequent year’s distribution under this subchapter. Corrections shall be made in the distributions to all municipalities and counties affected by the error. Corrections shall be without interest.

79.08 History History: 1973 c. 158, 333; 1977 c. 29; 1979 c. 34; 1981 c. 20; 1983 a. 27; 1985 a. 29; 1987 a. 27; 1989 a. 31, 336; 1991 a. 39.

79.09 79.09 Administration. Counties and municipalities shall submit the information required under this subchapter by the department of revenue on forms prescribed by the department. Annually, each county and municipality may contract with a certified public accountant licensed under ch. 442 to compile and submit to the department the information required.

79.09 History History: 1975 c. 39; 1985 a. 29.

79.095 79.095 State aid; computers.

79.095(1) (1) Definitions. In this section:

79.095(1)(a) (a) “Department” means the department of revenue.

79.095(1)(b) (b) “Gross tax rate” means the property tax rate without consideration of the credits under subch. II.

79.095(1)(bh) (bh) “Inflation factor” means a percentage equal to the average annual percentage change in the U.S. consumer price index for all urban consumers, U.S. city average, as determined by the U.S. department of labor, for the 12 months ending on September 30 of the year before the payment under sub. (4) (b), except that the percentage under this paragraph shall not be less than zero.

79.095(1)(bm) (bm) “Special purpose district” means a metropolitan sewerage district organized under subch. II of ch. 200, a town sanitary district organized under subch. IX of ch. 60, a metropolitan sewerage district created under s. 200.05, or a public inland lake protection and rehabilitation district organized under subch. IV of ch. 33.

79.095(1)(c) (c) “Taxing jurisdiction” means a municipality, county, school district, special purpose district, tax incremental district, environmental remediation tax incremental district, or technical college district.

79.095(2) (2) Reporting. Each municipality shall report to the department the following information:

79.095(2)(a) (a) On or before the 2nd Monday in June, the value of the property that is exempt under s. 70.11 (39) and (39m) in each taxing jurisdiction for which the municipality assesses property.

79.095(2)(b) (b) On or before December 31, the tax rate used for each tax incremental district for which the municipality assesses property and for each environmental remediation tax incremental district for which the municipality assesses property.

79.095(3) (3) Review by department. The department shall adjust each rate reported under sub. (2) (b) to a full-value rate. The department shall review and correct the information submitted under sub. (2) (a), shall determine the full value of all of the property reported under sub. (2) (a) and of all the property under s. 70.995 (12r) and, on or before October 1, shall notify each taxing jurisdiction of the full value of the property that is exempt under s. 70.11 (39) and (39m) and that is located in the jurisdiction. The department shall adjust the full value that is reported to taxing jurisdictions under this subsection in the year after an error occurs or a value has been changed due to an appeal. All disputes between the department and municipalities about the value of the property reported under sub. (2) (a) or of the property under s. 70.995 (12r) shall be resolved by using the procedures under s. 70.995 (8).

79.095(4) (4) Payment.

79.095(4)(a) (a) Except as provided in par. (b), the department shall calculate the payments due each taxing jurisdiction under this section by multiplying the full value as of the January 1 of the preceding year of the property that is exempt under s. 70.11 (39) and (39m) and that is located in the jurisdiction by the full-value gross tax rate of the jurisdiction for the preceding year.

79.095(4)(b) (b) In 2018, each taxing jurisdiction shall receive a payment under this section equal to the payment it received in 2017, multiplied by 1.0147. In 2019, each taxing jurisdiction shall receive a payment under this section equal to the payment it received in the previous year, multiplied by one plus the inflation factor. In 2020, and in each year thereafter, each taxing jurisdiction shall receive a payment under this section equal to the payment it received in the previous year.

79.095(4)(c) (c) The department shall certify the amount of the payment due each taxing jurisdiction to the department of administration, which shall make the payments on or before the 4th Monday in July. For purposes of ch. 121, school districts shall treat the payments made in July under this subsection as if they had been received in the previous school year.

79.095(4)(d) (d) Each taxing jurisdiction shall attribute to each tax incremental district within the taxing jurisdiction the district’s proportionate share of the amount the taxing jurisdiction receives under par. (b). The amount that would have been paid to a tax incremental district under this subsection shall be distributed to the municipality and applicable taxing jurisdictions in the year following the termination of the tax incremental district and in each year thereafter.

79.095(5) (5) Sunset. Subsections (2), (3), and (4) (a) do not apply with regard to the payments made under this section after July 2017.

79.095 History History: 1997 a. 237; 2001 a. 16, 30; 2005 a. 25, 418; 2013 a. 20; 2017 a. 59; 2021 a. 61.

79.096 79.096 State aid; personal property.

79.096(1) (1) Beginning in 2019, and in each year thereafter, the department of administration shall pay to each taxing jurisdiction, as defined in s. 79.095 (1) (c), an amount equal to the property taxes levied on the items of personal property described under s. 70.111 (27) (b) for the property tax assessments as of January 1, 2017.

79.096(2) (2) 

79.096(2)(a) (a) Each municipality shall report to the department of revenue, in the time and manner determined by the department, the amount of the property taxes levied on the items of personal property described under s. 70.111 (27) (b) for the property tax assessments as of January 1, 2017, on behalf of the municipality and on behalf of other taxing jurisdictions.

79.096(2)(b) (b) Each taxing jurisdiction shall report to the department of revenue, in the time and manner determined by the department, any information the department considers necessary to administer this section.

79.096(3) (3) Each taxing jurisdiction shall attribute to each tax incremental district within the taxing jurisdiction the district’s proportionate share of the amount the taxing jurisdiction receives under sub. (1). The amount that would have been paid to a tax incremental district under this subsection shall be distributed to the municipality and applicable taxing jurisdictions in the year following the termination of the tax incremental district and in each year thereafter. For a tax incremental district that terminated prior to July 10, 2021, if the tax incremental district was active for the 2017 tax year and would have received a payment under this subsection if not for its termination, the department of administration shall, with the distribution in 2022, distribute to the municipality and applicable taxing jurisdictions the sum of all such payments that would have been paid to the tax incremental district from its termination date to 2022 had the district not terminated. In 2023, and in each year thereafter, the department of administration shall distribute to the municipality and the applicable taxing jurisdictions the annual amount the tax incremental district would have received under this subsection.

79.096(4) (4) The department of revenue shall certify the amount of the payment due each taxing jurisdiction under sub. (1) to the department of administration, and the department of administration shall make the payment on or before the first Monday in May.

79.096 History History: 2017 a. 59; 2021 a. 61.

79.0965 79.0965 State aid; repeal of personal property tax.

79.0965(1) (1) Beginning in 2025, the department of administration shall pay to each taxing jurisdiction, as defined in s. 79.095 (1) (c), an amount equal to the property taxes levied on the items of personal property described under s. 70.111 (28) for the property tax assessments as of January 1, 2023.

79.0965(2) (2) 

79.0965(2)(a) (a) Each municipality shall report to the department of revenue, in the time and manner determined by the department, the amount of the property taxes levied on the items of personal property described under s. 70.111 (28) for the property tax assessments as of January 1, 2023, on behalf of the municipality and on behalf of other taxing jurisdictions.

79.0965(2)(b) (b) Each taxing jurisdiction shall report to the department of revenue, in the time and manner determined by the department, any information the department considers necessary to administer this section.

79.0965(2)(c) (c) If a municipality does not timely electronically file the report required by the department of revenue under par. (a), the following reductions will be made to the municipality’s personal property aid distributed under sub. (1) in 2025:

79.0965(2)(c)1. 1. Reduction of 25 percent, if not filed by June 30, 2024.

79.0965(2)(c)2. 2. Forfeiture of the municipality’s aid under sub. (1), if not filed by July 15, 2024.

79.0965(2)(d) (d) If a municipality does not electronically file the report required by the department of revenue under par. (a) by July 15, 2024, the department may use the best information available to calculate the aid to distribute under sub. (1) in 2025 to the applicable taxing jurisdictions.

79.0965(3) (3) Each taxing jurisdiction shall attribute to each tax incremental district within the taxing jurisdiction the district’s proportionate share of the amount the taxing jurisdiction receives under sub. (1). The amount that would have been paid to a tax incremental district under this subsection shall be distributed to the municipality and applicable taxing jurisdictions in the year following the termination of the tax incremental district and in each year thereafter.

79.0965(4) (4) The department of revenue shall certify the amount of the payment due each taxing jurisdiction under sub. (1) to the department of administration, and the department of administration shall make the payment on or before the first Monday in May.

79.0965 History History: 2023 a. 12, 19.

79.097 79.097 State aid; video service provider fee.

79.097(1) (1) 

79.097(1)(a) (a) In 2020, each municipality that assesses a fee under s. 66.0420 (7) shall receive a payment equal to 0.5 percent of the gross receipts, as reported under sub. (2) (a), used as the basis for the actual fee revenues received by the municipality in 2018.

79.097(1)(b) (b) In 2021, each municipality that assesses a fee under s. 66.0420 (7) shall receive a payment equal to 1 percent of the gross receipts, as reported under sub. (2) (b), used as the basis for the actual fee revenues received by the municipality in 2019.

79.097(1)(c) (c) Beginning in 2022, annually, each municipality that assesses a fee under s. 66.0420 (7) shall receive a payment under this section equal the amount it received in 2021.

79.097(2) (2) Each municipality that is eligible to receive a payment under this section shall report to the department of revenue the following information:

79.097(2)(a) (a) On or before August 15, 2019, the 2018 actual fee revenues from s. 66.0420 (7) and the estimated gross receipts on which the fee revenues are based.

79.097(2)(b) (b) On or before August 15, 2020, the 2019 actual fee revenues from s. 66.0420 (7) and the estimated gross receipts on which the fee revenues are based.

79.097(2)(c) (c) Any other information, provided in the time and manner determined by the department, that the department considers necessary for the administration of this section.

79.097(3) (3) 

79.097(3)(a) (a) Annually, on or before October 1, the department of revenue shall notify each municipality that is eligible to receive a payment under this section of the amount of the payment that the municipality shall receive in the following year.

79.097(3)(b) (b) The department of revenue shall certify the amount of the payment due to each taxing jurisdiction under sub. (1) to the department of administration, and the department of administration shall make the payment on or before the 4th Monday in July.

79.097 History History: 2019 a. 9.

subch. II of ch. 79 SUBCHAPTER II

PROPERTY TAX CREDITS

79.10 79.10 Wisconsin state property tax relief.

79.10(1) (1) Definitions. In this section:

79.10(1)(b) (b) “Average school tax levies” means the average of the school tax levies for the 3 years preceding the assessment year to which the tax credit is to apply.

79.10(1)(d) (d) “Municipality” means any town, village or city in this state. Where a municipality is located in more than one county the portion thereof in each county shall be considered a separate municipality.

79.10(1)(dm) (dm) “Principal dwelling” means any dwelling that is used by the owner of the dwelling as a primary residence on January 1 of the year preceding the allocation of a credit under sub. (9) (bm) and includes improvements that are classified, under ch. 70, as taxable real property or personal property.

79.10(1)(e) (e) “School tax levies” means property taxes levied in a municipality for elementary and secondary school districts and for county children with disabilities education board programs under s. 115.817, net of municipal surplus funds applied against those levies.

79.10(1)(g) (g) “School tax rate” means the taxes levied by school districts, as defined in s. 115.01 (3), as reflected on each property tax bill divided by the estimated fair market value of the property as reflected on each tax bill.

79.10(1m) (1m) Notice to the department.

79.10(1m)(a) (a) Each municipality shall notify the department of revenue of the total amount of credits allocated under sub. (9) (bm).

79.10(1m)(b) (b) Counties and municipalities shall submit to the department of revenue all data related to the lottery and gaming credit and the first dollar credit as requested by the department of revenue.

79.10(2) (2) Notice to municipalities.

79.10(2)(a) (a) On or before November 20 of the year preceding the distribution under sub. (7m) (a) or (cm), the department of revenue shall notify the clerk of each town, village and city of the estimated fair market value, as determined under sub. (11) (c), to be used to calculate the lottery and gaming credit under sub. (5) and of the amount to be distributed to it under sub. (7m) (a) or (cm). The anticipated receipt of such distribution shall not be taken into consideration in determining the tax rate of the municipality but shall be applied as tax credits.