Galesburg Reporter

A real estate tax bill sponsored by Sen. Jil Tracy (R-Quincy) that differentiates temporary and permanent structures for taxation purposes unanimously passed the Senate on Feb. 25.

"This bill is about the protection of a real estate issue and real estate taxpayers," Tracy said on the Senate floor. "It amends the property tax code to clarify between permanent structures being assessed as real property and temporary buildings or temporary structures that are not permanent fixtures." 

Tracy explained the origins of the bill. 

"A constituent had one of those buildings that you see at Lowes or along the roadside that is a little structure the size of two desks here. He keeps it on skids — these little pallet-type things, so that he can run it around his farm for use to store things or wherever he needs it," Tracy said. "But it's not permanent and is not attached to the ground. The local assessor assessed it as a fixture and this ran him about $20 extra per year. However, it's something that was important to him because he didn't think that was right."

The bill will now go to the House for debate and vote. "The language added is that building structures that are not permanently attached to the land are not considered property for the purpose of this code," said Tracy.

Rep. Norine Hammond (R-Macomb) is sponsoring the bill in the House.