Chapter 70, GENERAL PROPERTY TAXES

70.35 Taxpayer examined under oath or to submit return. (1) For assessments made before January 1, 2024, to determine the amount and value of any personal property for which any person, firm, or corporation should be assessed, any assessor may examine such person or the managing …

70.36 False statement; duty of district attorney. (1) For assessments made before January 1, 2024, any person in this state owning or holding any personal property that is subject to assessment, individually or as agent, trustee, guardian, personal representative, assignee, or re…

70.365 Notice of changed assessment. When the assessor assesses any taxable real property, or any improvements taxed as personal property under s. 77.84 (1), and arrives at a different total than the assessment of it for the previous year, the assessor shall notify the person ass…

70.37 Net proceeds occupation tax on persons extracting metalliferous minerals in this state. (1) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS. The legislature finds that: (a) The existence has been announced of several economically significant ore bodies containing copper, zinc, lead, taconite and othe…

70.375 Net proceeds occupation tax on mining of metallic minerals; computation. (1) DEFINITIONS. In ss. 70.37 to 70.3965: (ab) “Controlled entity” means a person at least 50 percent of the voting stock of which is owned directly or indirectly by another person who is engaged in m…

70.38 Reports, appeals, estimated liability. (1) REPORTS. On or before June 15, persons mining metalliferous minerals shall file with the department a true and accurate report in the form the department deems necessary to administer the tax under s. 70.375. The books and records …

70.385 Collection of the tax. All taxes as evidenced by the report under s. 70.38 (1) are due and payable to the department on or before June 15, and shall be deposited by the department with the secretary of administration. History: 1977 c. 31; 1981 c. 86; 1983 a. 27; 2003 a. 33…

70.39 Collection of delinquent tax. (1) Taxes due and unpaid on June 15 shall be deemed delinquent as of that date, and when delinquent shall be subject to a penalty of 4 percent of the tax and interest at the rate of 1.5 percent per month until paid. The parent shall be liable f…

70.395 Distribution and apportionment of tax. (1) DEFINITION. In this section, “first-dollar payment” means an amount equal to $100,000 adjusted as provided in s. 70.375 (6). (1e) DISTRIBUTION. Fifteen days after the collection of the tax under ss. 70.38 to 70.39, the department …

70.396 Use of metalliferous mining tax payments by counties. Counties receiving payments under s. 70.395 (2) (d) 1. shall expend the funds for any or all of the following uses: (1) For mining-related purposes. (2) Funds may be placed in the county mining investment fund for inves…

70.3965 Fund administrative fee. There is imposed an investment and local impact fund administrative fee on each person that has gross proceeds. On or before July 31 the department shall calculate the fee imposed on each such person by dividing the person’s gross proceeds for the…

70.397 Oil and gas severance tax. (1) DEFINITIONS. In this section: (a) “Department” means the department of revenue. (b) “Market value” means the sales price or market value of oil or gas at the mouth of the well, except that if the oil or gas is exchanged for something other th…

70.40 Occupational tax on iron ore concentrates. (1) Every person operating an iron ore concentrates dock in this state shall on or before January 31 of each year pay an annual occupational tax equal to 5 cents per ton upon all iron ore concentrates handled by or over the dock du…

70.42 Occupation tax on coal. (1) Every person operating a coal dock in this state, other than a dock used solely in connection with an industry and handling no coal except that consumed by the industry, shall on or before January 31 of each year pay an annual occupation tax of a…

70.421 Occupational tax on petroleum and petroleum products refined in this state. (1) Every person operating a crude oil refinery in this state, shall on or before January 31 of each year pay an annual occupation tax of a sum equal to 5 cents per ton upon all crude oil handled d…

70.43 Correction of errors by assessors. (1) In this section, “palpable error” means an error under s. 74.33 (1). (2) If the assessor discovers a palpable error in the assessment of a tract of real estate or an item of personal property, for personal property assessments made bef…

70.44 Assessment; property omitted. (1) Real property omitted from assessment in any of the 2 next previous years or personal property assessments made before January 1, 2024, and omitted from any of the 2 next previous years, unless previously reassessed for the same year or yea…

70.45 Return and examination of rolls. When the assessment rolls have been completed in cities of the 1st class, they shall be delivered to the commissioner of assessments, in all other cities to the city clerk, in villages to the village clerk and in towns to the town clerk. At …

70.46 Boards of review; members; organization. (1) Except as provided in sub. (1m) and s. 70.99, the supervisors and clerk of each town, the mayor, clerk and such other officers, other than assessors, as the common council of each city by ordinance determines, the president, cler…

70.47 Board of review proceedings. 70.47(1)(1) Time and place of meeting. The board of review shall meet annually at any time during the 45-day period beginning on the 4th Monday of April, but no sooner than 7 days after the last day on which the assessment roll is open for exami…

70.48 Assessor to attend board of review. The assessor or the assessor’s authorized representative shall attend without order or subpoena all hearings before the board of review and under oath submit to examination and fully disclose to the board such information as the assessor …

70.49 Affidavit of assessor. (1) Before the meeting of the board of review, the assessor shall attach to the completed assessment roll an affidavit in a form prescribed by the department of revenue. (2) The value of all real property entered into the assessment roll to which such…

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 ass…

70.501 Fraudulent valuations by assessor. Any assessor, or person appointed or designated under s. 70.055 or 70.75, who intentionally fixes the value of any property assessed by that person at less or more than the true value thereof prescribed by law for the valuation of the sam…

70.502 Fraud by member of board of review. Any member of the board of review of any assessment district who shall intentionally fix the value of any property assessed in such district, or shall intentionally agree with any other member of such board to fix the value of any of suc…

70.503 Civil liability of assessor or member of board of review. If any assessor, or person appointed or designated under s. 70.055 or 70.75, or any member of the board of review of any assessment district is guilty of any violation or omission of duty as specified in ss. 70.501 …

70.51 Assessment review and tax roll in first class cities. (1) The board of review in all 1st class cities, after they have examined, corrected and completed the assessment roll of said city and not later than the first Monday in November, shall deliver the same to the commissio…

70.511 Delayed action of reviewing authority. (1) VALUE TO BE USED IN SETTING TAX RATE. If the reviewing authority has not completed its work prior to the time set by a municipality for establishing its current tax rate, the municipality shall use the total value, including conte…

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…

70.53 Statement of assessment and exemptions. (1) Upon the correction of the assessment roll under s. 70.52, each city, village, and town clerk shall prepare and, on or before the 2nd Monday in June, transmit to the department of revenue all of the following: (b) A detailed state…

70.55 Special messenger. Whenever any town, city or village clerk shall have failed to transmit any such statement within the time fixed as aforesaid, the county treasurer or the department of revenue shall send a messenger therefor, who shall be paid and the expenses charged bac…

70.555 Provisions directory. The directions herein given for the assessing of lands and personal property and levying and collecting taxes shall be deemed directory only, and no error or informality in the proceedings of any of the officers entrusted with the same, not affecting …

70.56 Lost roll. (1) NEW ASSESSMENT. Whenever the assessment roll of any assessment district shall be lost or destroyed before the second Monday of October in any year and before the tax roll therefrom has been completed the assessor of such district shall immediately prepare a n…

70.57 Assessment of counties and taxation districts by department. (1) (a) The department of revenue before August 15 of each year shall complete the valuation of the property of each county and taxation district of the state. From all the sources of information accessible to it …

70.575 State assessment, time. The department, not later than August 15 in each year, shall total the assessments of counties made by the department of revenue under s. 70.57, and the total shall be known as the state assessment and shall be the full market value of all general p…

70.58 Forestation state tax. (1) Except as provided in subs. (2) and (3), there is levied an annual tax of two-tenths of one mill for each dollar of the assessed valuation of the property of the state as determined by the department of revenue under s. 70.57, for the purpose of a…

70.60 Apportionment of state tax to counties. (1) The department of administration shall compute the state tax chargeable against each county basing such computation upon the valuation of the taxable property of the county as determined by the department of revenue pursuant to s.…

70.62 County tax rate. (1) COUNTY BOARD TO DETERMINE. The county board shall determine by resolution the amount of taxes to be levied in its county for the year. (3) OMITTED TAX. Whenever the county board of any county shall fail to apportion against any town, city or village the…

70.63 Apportionment of county and state taxes to municipalities. (1) BY COUNTY CLERK. The county clerk shall apportion the county tax and the whole amount of state taxes and charges levied upon the county, as certified by the department of administration, among the towns, cities …

70.64 Review of equalized values. (1) BY TAX APPEALS COMMISSION. The assessment and determination of the relative value of taxable general property in any county or taxation district, made by the department of revenue under s. 70.57, may be reviewed, and a redetermination of the …

70.65 Tax roll. (1) CLERK TO PREPARE. Annually the clerk of the taxation district shall prepare a tax roll. The clerk shall begin preparation of the tax roll at a time sufficient to permit timely delivery of the tax roll under s. 74.03. (2) CONTENT. The tax roll shall do all of t…

70.67 Municipal treasurer’s bond; substitute for. (1) The treasurer of each town, city, or village shall, unless exempted under sub. (2), execute and deliver to the county treasurer a bond, with sureties, to be approved, in case of a town treasurer, by the chairperson of the town…

70.68 Collection of taxes. (1) COLLECTION IN CERTAIN CITIES. 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 unpai…

70.71 Proceedings if roll not made. (1) Whenever any town, city or village clerk neglects or refuses to make and deliver the tax roll within the time required by law the county clerk shall, at any time after such neglect or refusal, demand and summarily obtain the assessment roll…

70.72 Clerical help on reassessment. Whenever a reassessment or reassessments of taxes shall hereafter be ordered in any town, the town board of such town may employ such additional clerical help for the purpose of preparing the tax rolls upon such reassessment as in its judgment…

70.73 Correction of tax roll. (1) BEFORE DELIVERY. (a) If it is discovered by any town, village or city clerk or treasurer that any parcel of land has been erroneously described on the tax roll the clerk or treasurer shall correct the description. (b) If a town, village, or city …

70.74 Lien of reassessed tax. (1) Whenever any tax or assessment or any part thereof levied on real estate, whether heretofore or hereafter levied, shall have been set aside or determined to be illegal or void or the collection thereof prevented by the judgment of a court or the …

70.75 Reassessments. (1) REASSESSMENTS, HOW MADE. (a) 1. The owners of taxable property in any taxation district, other than an assessment district within the corporate limits of any 1st class city, whose property has an aggregate assessed valuation of not less than 5 percent of …

70.76 Board of correction. (1) NOTICE, PROOF. (a) In the order for reassessment the department of revenue shall designate 3 persons to serve as a board for the correction and review of the reassessment. As soon as practicable the person making the reassessment shall inform the cl…

70.77 Proceedings; inspection. Such board shall carefully examine and consider such reassessment roll and all statements and other information accompanying the same or given in relation thereto. They shall review and correct such reassessment in like manner as the regular board o…