70.337 Tax exemption reports.

(1) By March 31 of each even-numbered year, the owner of each parcel of property that is exempt under s. 70.11 shall file with the clerk of the taxation district in which the property is located a form containing the following information:

(a) The name and address of the owner of the property and, if applicable, the type of organization that owns the property.

(b) The legal description and parcel number of the property as shown on the assessment roll.

(c) The date of acquisition of the property.

(d) A description of any improvements on the land.

(e) A statement indicating whether or not any portion of the property was leased to another person during the preceding 2 years. If the property was leased, the statement shall identify the portion of the property that was leased, identify the lessee and describe the ways in which the lease payments were used by the owner of the property.

(f) The owner's estimate of the fair market value of the property on January 1 of the even-numbered year. The owner shall provide this estimate by marking one of a number of value ranges provided on the form prepared under sub. (2). The assessor for the taxation district within which the property is located may review the owner's estimate of the fair market value of the property and adjust it if necessary to reflect the correct fair market value.

(2) By July 1 of each even-numbered year, the clerk of each taxation district shall complete and deliver to the department of revenue a form on which the clerk estimates the value of tax-exempt property, classified by type of owner, within the taxation district.

(3) The department of revenue shall prescribe the contents of the form for reporting the information required under sub. (1), including the categories of value of property that the department of revenue determines will result in the best estimate of the value of tax-exempt property in this state. The department of revenue shall also prescribe the contents of the form under sub. (2). The form under sub. (2) shall provide for estimates of the value of tax-exempt property in the taxation district that is owned by various categories of owners, including property that is owned by the benevolent and educational associations; fraternal and labor organizations; nonprofit hospitals; private colleges; and churches and religious associations. The forms under subs. (1) and (2) shall be prepared and distributed under s. 70.09 (3).

(4) The department of revenue shall tabulate data from the forms received under sub. (2) and prepare an estimate of the value of tax-exempt property in this state by category of owner. The department shall include this information in the summary of tax exemption devices prepared under s. 16.425 (3).

(5) Each person that is required to file a report under sub. (1) shall pay a reasonable fee that is sufficient to defray the costs to the taxation district of distributing and reviewing the forms under sub. (1) and of preparing the form for the department of revenue under sub. (2). The amount of the fee shall be established by the governing body of the taxation district. This subsection does not apply to a church that is required to file a report under sub. (1).

(6) If the form under sub. (1) is not received by March 31 of the even-numbered year, the taxation district clerk shall send the owner of the property a notice, by certified mail, stating that the property for which the form is required will be appraised at the owner's expense if a completed form is not received by the taxation district clerk within 30 days after the notice is sent. If the completed form is not received by the taxation district clerk within 30 days after the notice is sent, the property shall be appraised either by the taxation district assessor or by a person hired by the taxation district to conduct the appraisal.

(7) This section does not apply to property that is exempt under s. 70.11 (1), (2), (13), (13m), (15), (15m), (21) or (30), property that is exempt under s. 70.11 (18) if a payment in lieu of taxes is made for that property, lake beds owned by the state, state forests under s. 28.03 or 28.035, county forests under s. 28.10, property acquired by the department of transportation under s. 85.08 or 85.09 or highways, as defined in s. 340.01 (22).

History: 1971 c. 215; 1973 c. 90; 1977 c. 29 ss. 749, 1647 (4), (9); 1977 c. 273, 418; 1983 a. 27; 1991 a. 39, 269; 1995 a. 113, 136, 417; 1999 a. 9.