Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers has signed 2025 Wisconsin Act 15, clarifying the tax status of telecom towers statewide. The exemption takes effect for property tax assessments as of January 1, 2026, except for towers owned by wireless carriers. Those will be exempt from property taxes starting in 2027.
Tax relief has been a long time coming for tower owners who thought the state was putting an end to their tower taxes when Wisconsin Act 12 eliminated personal property taxes as of January 2024. Wisconsin has historically considered towers personal property, and has taxed the tangible personal property of some communications companies while exempting the personal property of other businesses, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The group says New Jersey and Delaware are two other states that fall into this category.
Many Wisconsin tower owners thought they were in the clear with the end of personal property taxes. But then the state’s Department of Revenue issued guidance for local assessors, explaining that in some cases towers could be classified as real property and taxed as such by municipalities or by the state itself.
“The number of communities treating towers as real property was quite large and included many of the larger communities in the state,” said Rodney Carter, a partner with law firm, Husch Blackwell. Carter said his firm sent more than 500 letters on behalf of tower company clients to municipalities that had classified towers as real property.
Meanwhile, the law firm’s HB Strategies lobbying group led efforts to find a legislative solution, resulting in the new law that passed this month. “Regardless of whether towers are personal property or real property, they will now be exempt,” said Nathan Halbach, principal with HB Strategies.
The 2026 implementation represents a compromise, since, of course, lawmakers advocating for the industry would have preferred to see the law take effect at once. Roughly 20 municipalities had already sent assessments to tower companies that are members of the Wireless Infrastructure Association, according to WIA’s Karmen Rajamani, VP, Government Affairs. “Under state law the final assessment was up to the local municipal assessors,” Rajamani said.
For local governments, 2025 Wisconsin Act 15 means less potential revenue going forward, but Halbach said there was “not much pushback from municipalities” since the state clarified the rules in a timely manner. “If you wait a few years and then do it, municipalities will say ‘Hey you are blowing a hole in our budget,’” he said.
This article represents the opinions of veteran telecom industry editor and journalist Martha DeGrasse, an Inside Towers Contributing Analyst with features appearing monthly. DeGrasse owns Network Builder Reports and contributes regularly to several publications. She was formerly a writer and editor with RCR Wireless and a TV business news producer.
By Martha DeGrasse, Inside Towers Contributing Analyst
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