By Joe Bachman
Multimedia Editor

PLOVER — Walmart and Lowe’s continued the fight in favor of dark store loopholes, as they sued the Village of Plover on Monday.

The lawsuit claims that Plover overcharged taxes assessed to Walmart and Lowe’s for 2019, both located at the Crossroad Commons. Walmart believes the building is worth $8.3 million, while the Village of plover puts it at $10.6 million. Lowe’s lawsuit carries similar numbers, estimating nearly $3 million in overcharged taxes.

Called the ‘dark store tax loophole’, large retailers, such as Walgreens, CVS, Walmart, and others, are allowed to pay less in taxes due to an assessment of the store’s property based solely on ‘bricks and mortar’, and not the value of the business, as well as products and inventory carried in store.

According to the League of Wisconsin Municipalities, large retailers make the case that the value of a property is the same whether it is an abandoned building, (a ‘dark store’), or a flourishing and profitable business. However, many believe that retailers should be taxed on the value within the inventory and profit in the store, and not as an empty building.

If successful in court, the big-box retailers recouping a portion of the costs from a refund on behalf of the Village.