February 4, 2003, Introduced by Reps. Hoogendyk, Milosch, Vander Veen and Drolet and referred to the Committee on Tax Policy.
A bill to amend 1893 PA 206, entitled
"The general property tax act,"
by amending section 34c (MCL 211.34c), as amended by 2000
PA 415.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
1 Sec. 34c. (1) Not later than the first Monday in March in
2 each year, the assessor shall classify every item of assessable
3 property according to the definitions contained in this section.
4 Following the March board of review, the assessor shall tabulate
5 the total number of items and the valuations as approved by the
6 board of review for each classification and for the totals of
7 real and personal property in the local tax collecting unit. The
8 assessor shall transmit to the county equalization department and
9 to the state tax commission the tabulation of assessed valuations
10 and other statistical information the state tax commission
1 considers necessary to meet the requirements of this act and 1911
2 PA 44, MCL 209.1 to 209.8.
3 (2) The classifications of assessable real property are
4 described as follows:
5 (a) Agricultural real property includes parcels used
6 partially or wholly for agricultural operations, with or without
7 buildings, and parcels assessed to the department of natural
8 resources and valued by the state tax commission. As used in
9 this subdivision, "agricultural operations" means the following:
10 (i) Farming in all its branches, including cultivating soil.
11 (ii) Growing and harvesting any agricultural, horticultural,
12 or floricultural commodity.
13 (iii) Dairying.
14 (iv) Raising livestock, bees, fish, fur-bearing animals, or
15 poultry.
16 (v) Turf and tree farming. As used in this subparagraph,
17 "tree farming" includes the management and harvesting of a parcel
18 of property stocked with forest products if the parcel of
19 property on which the forest products are located is enrolled in
20 a recognized tree farm system and has a certified management plan
21 for harvesting and planting of forest products.
22 (vi) Performing any practices on a farm incident to, or in
23 conjunction with, farming operations. A commercial storage,
24 processing, distribution, marketing, or shipping operation is not
25 part of agricultural operations.
26 (b) Commercial real property includes the following:
27 (i) Platted or unplatted parcels used for commercial
1 purposes, whether wholesale, retail, or service, with or without
2 buildings.
3 (ii) Parcels used by fraternal societies.
4 (iii) Parcels used as golf courses, boat clubs, ski areas, or
5 apartment buildings with more than 4 units.
6 (c) Developmental real property includes parcels containing
7 more than 5 acres without buildings, or more than 15 acres with a
8 market value in excess of its value in use. Developmental real
9 property may include farm land or open space land adjacent to a
10 population center, or farm land subject to several competing
11 valuation influences.
12 (d) Industrial real property includes the following:
13 (i) Platted or unplatted parcels used for manufacturing and
14 processing purposes, with or without buildings.
15 (ii) Parcels used for utilities sites for generating plants,
16 pumping stations, switches, substations, compressing stations,
17 warehouses, rights-of-way, flowage land, and storage areas.
18 (iii) Parcels used for removal or processing of gravel,
19 stone, or mineral ores, whether valued by the local assessor or
20 by the state geologist.
21 (e) Residential real property includes the following:
22 (i) Platted or unplatted parcels, with or without buildings,
23 and condominium apartments located within or outside a village or
24 city, which are used for, or probably will be used for,
25 residential purposes.
26 (ii) Parcels that are used for, or probably will be used for,
27 recreational purposes, such as lake lots and hunting lands,
1 located in an area used predominantly for recreational purposes.
2 (f) Timber-cutover
real property includes parcels that are
3 stocked with forest
products of merchantable type and size,
4 cutover forest land with little or no merchantable forest
5 products , and
marsh lands or other barren land. However, when
6 a typical purchase of this type of land is for residential or
7 recreational uses, the classification shall be changed to
8 residential.
9 (3) The classifications of assessable personal property are
10 described as follows:
11 (a) Agricultural personal property includes farm buildings on
12 leased land and any agricultural equipment and produce not exempt
13 by law.
14 (b) Commercial personal property includes the following:
15 (i) All equipment, furniture, and fixtures on commercial
16 parcels, and inventories not exempt by law.
17 (ii) Outdoor advertising signs and billboards.
18 (iii) Well drilling rigs and other equipment attached to a
19 transporting vehicle but not designed for operation while the
20 vehicle is moving on the highway.
21 (iv) Unlicensed commercial vehicles or commercial vehicles
22 licensed as special mobile equipment or by temporary permits.
23 (v) Commercial buildings on leased land.
24 (c) Industrial personal property includes the following:
25 (i) All machinery and equipment, furniture and fixtures, and
26 dies on industrial parcels, and inventories not exempt by law.
27 (ii) Industrial buildings on leased land.
1 (iii) Personal property of mining companies valued by the
2 state geologist.
3 (d) Residential personal property includes a home, cottage,
4 or cabin on leased land, and a mobile home that would be
5 assessable as real property under section 2a except that the land
6 on which it is located is not assessable because the land is
7 exempt.
8 (e) Utility personal property includes the following:
9 (i) Electric transmission and distribution systems,
10 substation equipment, spare parts, gas distribution systems, and
11 water transmission and distribution systems.
12 (ii) Oil wells and allied equipment such as tanks, gathering
13 lines, field pump units, and buildings.
14 (iii) Inventories not exempt by law.
15 (iv) Gas wells with allied equipment and gathering lines.
16 (v) Oil or gas field equipment stored in the open or in
17 warehouses such as drilling rigs, motors, pipes, and parts.
18 (vi) Gas storage equipment.
19 (vii) Transmission lines of gas or oil transporting
20 companies.
21 (viii) Utility buildings on leased land.
22 (4) For taxes levied before January 1, 2003, buildings on
23 leased land of any classification are improvements where the
24 owner of the improvement is not the owner of the land or fee, the
25 value of the land is not assessed to the owner of the building,
26 and the improvement has been assessed as personal property
27 pursuant to section 14(6). For taxes levied after December 31,
1 2002, buildings located upon leased land, except buildings exempt
2 under section 9f, shall be assessed as real property under
3 section 2 and shall bear the same classification as the parcel
4 upon which the building is located. For taxes levied after
5 December 31, 2001, buildings exempt under section 9f shall be
6 assessed as personal property.
7 (5) If the total usage of a parcel includes more than 1
8 classification, the assessor shall determine the classification
9 that most significantly influences the total valuation of the
10 parcel.
11 (6) An owner of any assessable property who disputes the
12 classification of that parcel shall notify the assessor and may
13 protest the assigned classification to the March board of
14 review. An owner or assessor may appeal the decision of the
15 March board of review by filing a petition with the state tax
16 commission not later than June 30 in that tax year. The state
17 tax commission shall arbitrate the petition based on the written
18 petition and the written recommendations of the assessor and the
19 state tax commission staff. An appeal may not be taken from the
20 decision of the state tax commission regarding classification
21 complaint petitions and the state tax commission's determination
22 is final and binding for the year of the petition.
23 (7) The department of treasury may appeal the classification
24 of any assessable property to the residential and small claims
25 division of the Michigan tax tribunal not later than December 31
26 in the tax year for which the classification is appealed.
27 (8) This section shall not be construed to encourage the
1 assessment of property at other than the uniform percentage of
2 true cash value prescribed by this act.