Lawmakers To Debate: Should Maine's Big-Box Stores Be Taxed As If They're Empty Or Full?

MAINE PUBLIC • February 10, 2020

Nationwide, lawyers for big-box retailers such as Walmart and Home Depot are contesting local property tax assessments, which they argue should be based the value of a store if it were vacant. It’s called the dark store theory, and a bill in the Maine Legislature aims to head off the practice before it gains traction in Maine’s courts and depletes local tax revenues. In the 2017-2018 tax year, the town of Brunswick assessed the property taxes of its local Walmart at about $17,000,000. But attorneys for the retailer say that because of the dark store argument, its taxes should be nearly half that amount. Walmart is also arguing for a 75% reduction in Farmington and an 80% reduction in Sanford. State Rep. Ryan Tipping says that the retailers are shortchanging local budgets and increasing taxes for everyone else.