Things you learn just by driving down the road

[gmerkt]

Or maybe, things you learn after you look into things you've seen while driving down the road.

For many years, I've driven down a certain road whereby stands a smallish building of about 1,500 sq. ft. Situated upon a half acre lot. Surrounded by chain link fence. With funny little appurtenances around it. Years ago, it had a flat sign with four numerals on it announcing the street address. Lately, I've noticed the street address sign is gone. I've been wondering who this property belongs to and to what use it is put.

Pretty regularly I check properties in my county as to ownership and taxation so I decided to look this one up. In my county, it's all a matter of public record. So I looked up this to me mysterious property. The taxes paid on this property are a very low. In fact, only a couple of things like storm water management and miscellany. Not the big ones, like schools and regular levies. The property belongs to a telecommunications company in Alaska. They have an exemption from most property taxes.

I went to the Revised Code of Washington and looked it up. Sure enough, big as life and twice as ugly, PUBLIC UTILITIES are exempt from payment of property taxes.

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[Mikej]

Try to imagine what YOUR property taxes would become if they weren't exempt!
"Shudder"

 

[Ruger Rich]

I have a lack of knowledge on this but your post generated some questions for me.
Does "PUBLIC UTILITY" mean a non-profit or does it mean any entity that serves
and distributes electricity, gas, etc.?

 

[Flopsweat]

I have a lack of knowledge on this but your post generated some questions for me.
Does "PUBLIC UTILITY" mean a non-profit or does it mean any entity that serves
and distributes electricity, gas, etc.?

Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

 

[Provincial]

Politicians deliver a lot of "gas." Does that mean that they are exempt from property taxes?

 

[Ruger Rich]

Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

There are "Municipal Utility Districts" which are deemed non-profits and I somewhat see a property tax break for them
as it should mean lower rates to end users. Then there are the PGE's and Nortwest Natural Gas, etc. folks whose financial
interests may be different than the strictly non-profits. And could I do the paperwork and get my petty property holdings
classified as a Public Utility? I guess my questions could answered with a definition of Public Utility.

 

[Flopsweat]

There are "Municipal Utility Districts" which are deemed non-profits and I somewhat see a property tax break for them
as it should mean lower rates to end users. Then there are the PGE's and Nortwest Natural Gas, etc. folks whose financial
interests may be different than the strictly non-profits. And could I do the paperwork and get my petty property holdings
classified as a Public Utility? I guess my questions could answered with a definition of Public Utility.

I'm kind of torn on that one. Seems to me we'd just be paying that in slightly higher rates, but there are several utilities on my bubblegum list.

 

[gmerkt]

I stand corrected on part of this. The RCW does NOT grant a blanket exemption for public utilities. I think. Because when I went back a while ago so I could post a link to the RCW, I couldn't find it. I may have confused some definitions with exemptions.

BUT: I stand by what I said about some of what I've looked into myself. And I admit I don't understand what's behind it. Yet. But I'm gonna find out.

Example: Big building at 426 E. Casino Road, Everett WA. This has been a "phone company" building since 1970. One of those tall, square things that used to be filled with racks and racks of boards connecting everyone's phone lines in a given area. That electronic technology is long obsolete but those properties were acquired by legacy telecommunications firms. This building now sprouts a bunch of antennas on top for modern cellular equipment.

This building on a 3.77 ac. lot is assessed at $15,690,000. The owner is listed as 426 E. Casino Road LLC. Until 2016, it was owned by Frontier. No property taxes are paid on this parcel; it has a full exemption, which is described as, "Tax Commission Operating." Property use is described as, "Telephone Communication."

The little half acre parcel that I mentioned in the OP, it has an assessed value of $613,000 yet pays only $309 in taxes for 2021. And, this is only because they are located on unincorporated county land and the fire protection and surface water management lines in the tax bill are separate, not folded into the general levy as they are in incorporated cities (such as where the 425 E. Casino Rd. property is located). The half acre property is also Use Code 471, Telephone Communication. Likewise, it carries a property tax exemption that says, "Tax Commission Operating."

I looked up my local water district. They don't pay any property taxes either. Because government property is exempt from property taxes, per RCW 84. Same story for my local PUD which supplies power. Any level of government is, well, government, including utility districts. And all those other little districts folded into your tax bill. Hospital district, diking district, you name it. "Instrumentalities of Government."

Now I've got to look into what "Tax Commission Operating" means that exempts private telecommunications firms from property taxation.

 

[TTSX]

Imagine that. Big lobbyists got tax exemptions for their clients. Must be nice to buy government

 

[Provincial]

Interesting bit of tax policy. Many cities charge a fee (tax) to utilities for using the public right-of-ways for their wiring and piping. These fees are often a percentage of the gross revenue of the company within the jurisdiction. It gets passed on to the consumer, so it is really a hidden tax on the citizens.

 

[Flopsweat]

Interesting bit of tax policy. Many cities charge a fee (tax) to utilities for using the public right-of-ways for their wiring and piping. These fees are often a percentage of the gross revenue of the company within the jurisdiction. It gets passed on to the consumer, so it is really a hidden tax on the citizens.

Look at all the taxes on your ISP bill. Half the cost of gas was tax until last week. Most of the cost of cigarettes is tax. You probably lose a total of 45% to 50% of your income to taxes by the time all is said and done.

 

[gmerkt]

Now I've got to look into what "Tax Commission Operating" means that exempts private telecommunications firms from property taxation.

I did look into this. I contacted the county assessor's office by email, then today I talked to a manager there about it. It was explained to me that utilities, railroads, other utility-type businesses that have multiple properties in different jurisdictions have their property assessed and taxed by the State Department of Revenue, then the money is disbursed out from them to the various jurisdictions. Kind of a consolidated method of managing taxation. So the utilities are paying property tax, not getting out of it. The counties still maintain the documentary side of recording events, changes of title, etc. The exemption on the county records only shows that taxation by the county is exempt, not exempted from payment to the Department of Revenue which is collecting on behalf of the county.