BCTA V. BROWN COUNTY

Case Name: Brown County Taxpayers Association v. Brown County

Type of Case: Sales Tax Challenge; Good Government

Court: Brown County Circuit Court

Case Number: 18-cv-13; 18-cv-640

Filed On: January 2, 2018; May 23, 2018

Current Status: Wisconsin Supreme Court

RESPONSE TO WISCONSIN SUPREME COURT DECISION IN BROWN COUNTY V BCTA

March 4, 2022 | The Wisconsin Supreme Court issued a 5-2 decision in Brown County v. Brown County Taxpayers Association (BCTA) to uphold the Brown County sales tax. The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) challenged the Brown County sales tax because of the decision to use local sales tax revenue to fund capital projects instead of lowering property taxes.

WILL TO ARGUE BROWN COUNTY SALES TAX CASE AT WISCONSIN SUPREME COURT

November 16, 2021 | Attorneys for the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) are participating in Wisconsin Supreme Court oral arguments, Tuesday, in Brown County v. Brown County Taxpayers Association, a legal challenge to Brown County’s decision to use local sales tax revenue to fund capital projects instead of lowering property taxes.

WISCONSIN SUPREME COURT TO REVIEW WILL CHALLENGE TO BROWN COUNTY SALES TAX

April 26, 2021 | The Wisconsin Supreme Court granted a request from the Wisconsin Court of Appeals to review a lawsuit in which WILL claims, on behalf of the Brown County Taxpayers Association (BCTA), that Brown County’s sales tax is illegal.

WILL APPEALS RULING UPHOLDING BROWN COUNTY SALES TAX

May 20, 2020 | The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) appealed a circuit court decision that Brown County’s sales tax complies with state law. WILL appealed to District III of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals on behalf of the Brown County Taxpayers Association (BCTA) and Brown County taxpayer Frank Bennett.

WILL AND BROWN COUNTY TAXPAYERS ASSOCIATION RESPOND TO LAWSUIT

May 24, 2018 | Brown County filed a lawsuit reopening a dispute over the legality of its new 0.5% sales tax.   A previous suit, brought by the Brown County Taxpayers Association (BCTA) and a Brown County resident, argued the tax was illegal because state law says a county can only create a sales tax “for the purpose of directly reducing the property tax levy.”

WILL SUES BROWN COUNTY OVER ILLEGAL SALES TAX

January 3, 2018 | The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty filed suit against Brown County in state court, alleging that the County’s new Sales and Use Tax violates state law. The lawsuit is on behalf of the Brown County Taxpayers Association and a resident of Brown County, and also names the Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Revenue as a Defendant.

Wisconsin law permits counties to impose a 0.5% sales tax, but “only for the purpose of directly reducing the property tax levy.”  When a county sales tax is imposed, taxpayers should see a significant reduction in the county portion of their property taxes.

Brown County created a new sales tax to go into effect on January 1, 2018, but is not using that revenue to lower people’s property taxes.  Instead, the County is using it to pay for a slew of new projects, including museum exhibits, an expo hall, and a new research center.

On behalf of the Brown County Taxpayers Association and a local taxpayer, we sued to challenge the sales tax.  The court dismissed the case for failure to serve a notice of claim on the County before suing, despite our argument that notices aren’t necessary when seeking a temporary injunction to immediately halt illegal government activity.  We filed a new notice of claim and the case has been refiled.

On March 24, 2020, the Circuit Court issued its decision and order upholding the validity of Brown County’s ordinance.  The Court concluded that the County had avoided a hypothetical increase in its property tax levy to pay for the new spending and that was sufficient under the statute.  We appealed the decision, and on March 3, 2021 the Court of Appeals asked the Supreme Court to review the case.

WILL attorneys participated in oral argument on November 16, 2021.

Current Status: The Wisconsin Supreme Court issued a 5-2 decision in Brown County v. Brown County Taxpayers Association (BCTA) to uphold the Brown County sales tax on March 4, 2022.

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