NATIONAL

Stores Closing Include Walmart, Macy's, and Bed Bath & Beyond in 2023
Business Insider
It's not quite the retail apocalypse of prior years, but it's a shakeup nonetheless. An Insider tally of announcements by major retailers in 2023 finds at least 803 stores set to close during the year across the US. The rationales are varied: some companies are navigating bankruptcy proceedings, while others say they are aiming to cut costs.

IDAHO

‘Backdoor tax exemption': Ada Assessor raises red flags on bill to cap values for storage units, nursing homes & more
Boise Dev
The Ada County Assessor's office is raising a red flag on a low-profile property tax bill they say would give a “backdoor” tax cut to owners of storage units, gas stations, nursing homes, and other special use property.

INDIANA

Johnson County homeowners can expect high property tax bills this year
Daily Journal
This trend of high AV growth has been seen statewide, largely because of the state of the hot housing market between 2020 and 2022 and general economic trends as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recent study by Policy Analytics LLC for the Association of Indiana Counties, or AIC.

KANSAS

Could county level income taxes solve the property tax problems
KAKE
One Kansas lawmaker thinks county level income taxes are the answer to sparing Kansans the burden of ever-increasing property taxes. Sen. David Haley, D Kansas City, calls the proposal, SB 79, an earnings tax and says it's based off the system in Kansas City, Missouri. Under the proposal, county residents would have to approve the up to 1% tax by vote.

MICHIGAN

Ottawa County property taxes expected to go up at highest rate in 30 years
mlive.com
Property owners in Ottawa County could see the highest one-year increase in the taxable value of their properties in nearly 30 years. The increase is mostly due to inflation, according to the county's equalization department director, Brian Busscher.

PENNSYLVANIA

Commonwealth Court rules Pottstown Hospital not exempt from property tax
wfmz.com
A state court has ruled that Pottstown Hospital is not exempt from paying property taxes. The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania reversed a trial court's previous decision that awarded Pottstown Hospital, a member of the Tower Health network, tax-exempt status for the tax years 2018 to 2021.

TEXAS

TC Research Institute: Is Texas using recapture as a slush fund?
MRT
Many Texans are aware of a program known as "Robin Hood" or recapture. Some hold it in animus. In many ways, this is a basic misunderstanding of why the program is in place. A better term for it in the legal language is wealth equalization. The concept is fairly straightforward.

WISCONSIN

League of Wisconsin Municipalities: Ding dong the dark store is dead
WisPolitics
In a decision representing a major victory for Wisconsin municipalities and their taxpayers, the Wisconsin Supreme Court resoundingly rejected a big box commercial retailer's attempt to demonstrate its tax assessment was “excessive” by using sales of dark and distressed properties as “reasonably comparable sales” to determine value.