Mich. Comp. Laws § 211.181

Taxation of lessees or users of tax-exempt real property; business conducted for profit; exceptions.

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MI-LEGlegislature.mi.gov JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

TAXATION OF LESSEES OR USERS OF TAX-EXEMPT PROPERTY

Act 189 of 1953

211.181 Taxation of lessees or users of tax-exempt real property; business conducted for profit; exceptions.

Sec. 1.

(1) Except as provided in this section, if real property exempt for any reason from ad valorem property taxation is leased, loaned, or otherwise made available to and used by a private individual, association, or corporation in connection with a business conducted for profit, the lessee or user of the real property is subject to taxation in the same amount and to the same extent as though the lessee or user owned the real property.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to any of the following:

(a) Federal property for which payments are made instead of ad valorem property taxes in amounts equivalent to taxes that might otherwise be lawfully assessed or property of a state-supported educational institution, enumerated in section 4 of article VIII of the state constitution of 1963.

(b) Property that is used as a concession at a public airport, park, market, or similar property and that is available for use by the general public.

(c) Property that is used by the lessee or user only in conjunction with a county fair, community fair, 4-H fair, or state fair of this state, or in conjunction with a special event for which the lessee or user pays a fee to the county fair, community fair, 4-H fair, or state fair. As used in this subdivision, "special event" means an event during which property is occupied by the lessee or user for not more than 14 consecutive days.

(d) For tax days before December 31, 1985, property that is used by the lessee or user in such a manner that the city or township in which the property is located receives revenue under section 17 of the horse racing law of 1995, 1995 PA 279, MCL 431.317.

(e) Real property located in a renaissance zone, except a casino, to the extent and for the duration provided in the Michigan renaissance zone act, 1996 PA 376, MCL 125.2681 to 125.2696, except a special assessment or a tax described in section 7ff(2) of the general property tax act, 1893 PA 206, MCL 211.7ff. As used in this subdivision, "casino" means a casino or a parking lot, hotel, motel, or retail store owned or operated by a casino, an affiliate, or an affiliated company, regulated by this state pursuant to the Michigan Gaming Control and Revenue Act, 1996 IL 1, MCL 432.201 to 432.226.

(f) Property that qualifies as a public bridge facility that is used by a concessionaire pursuant to a public-private agreement entered into with a city under section 5k of the home rule city act, 1909 PA 279, MCL 117.5k. As used in this subdivision, "concessionaire", "public bridge facility", and "public-private agreement" mean those terms as defined in section 5k of the home rule city act, 1909 PA 279, MCL 117.5k.

History: 1953, Act 189, Imd. Eff. June 10, 1953 ;-- Am. 1962, Act 226, Eff. Mar. 28, 1963 ;-- Am. 1970, Act 174, Imd. Eff. Aug. 3, 1970 ;-- Am. 1976, Act 430, Imd. Eff. Jan. 11, 1977 ;-- Am. 1982, Act 241, Imd. Eff. Sept. 23, 1982 ;-- Am. 1984, Act 63, Imd. Eff. Apr. 12, 1984 ;-- Am. 1984, Act 305, Imd. Eff. Dec. 21, 1984 ;-- Am. 1996, Act 447, Imd. Eff. Dec. 19, 1996 ;-- Am. 1998, Act 244, Imd. Eff. July 3, 1998 ;-- Am. 2020, Act 356, Eff. Mar. 24, 2021

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 38 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1956–2025 · leading case: Airlines Parking, Inc v. Wayne County

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Airlines Parking, Inc v. Wayne County (1996) mich · cites it 4× “189 of the Public Acts of 1953, being sections 211.181 to 211.182 of the Michigan Compiled Laws, on concessions at a regional airport facility.”

Nomads, Inc v. City of Romulus (1986) michctapp · cites it 7× “from a Michigan Tax Tribunal judgment dismissing petitioner’s 1980 and 1982 lessee-user tax assessment appeals on the ground that it lacked jurisdiction over these assessments, and further dismissing petitioner’s appeal from the 1981 assessment on the ground that petitioner was…”

Golf Concepts v. City of Rochester Hills (1996) michctapp · cites it 5× “Respondent nonetheless determined that the value of the land was taxable to petitioner under the lessee-user tax act, MCL 211.181; MSA 7.7(5). Under that statute, respondent assessed the two land parcels at $958,000 for the years 1992 through 1994.”

Avis Rent-A-Car System, Inc. v. City of Romulus (1977) mich · cites it 4× “(MCLA 211.181; MSA 7.7[5]). 4 We find that subsection (2) of 1970 PA 174 is unconstitutional.”

Skybolt Partnership v. City of Flint (1994) michctapp · cites it 5× “134708 of these consolidated appeals, the City of Flint appeals as of right from an opinion and judgment of the Tax Tribunal holding that a portion of certain facilities occupied by petitioner Skybolt Partnership at Bishop International Airport in Flint constituted a leasehold…”

County of Kent v. City of Grand Rapids (1969) mich · cites it 8× “This is an appeal from decisions of the Kent county circuit court in separate actions, here consolidated, and involves the interpretation of section 1 of PA 1953, No 189, as amended by PA 1962, No 226 (MCLA § 211.181 [Stat Ann 1968 Cum Supp § 7.”

Continental Motors Corp. v. Township of Muskegon (1965) mich · cites it 4× “7(5)]), applies here: "Public Act 189 was apparently designed to equalize the annual tax burden carried by private businesses using exempt property with that of similar businesses using nonexempt property. Other things being the same, it seems obvious enough that use of exempt…”

National Exposition Co. v. City of Detroit (1988) michctapp · cites it 3× “Petitioners dispute respondent’s assessment of lessee-user taxes, assessed pursuant to MCL 211.181; MSA 7.7(5). The Tax Tribunal upheld the assessment and petitioners appeal as of right.”

City of Kalamazoo v. Richland Township (1997) michctapp · cites it 3× “(2) Subsection (1) shall not apply to: :|: * * (b) Property which is used as a concession at a public airport, park, market, or similar property and which is available for use by the general public.”

City of Gaylord v. Gaylord City Clerk (1966) mich · cites it 2× “*302 Section 11 of Act No 62 parallels PA 1953, No 189, as amended (CLS 1961, §§ 211.181, 211.182 [Stat Ann 1960 Rev § 7.”

Clinton County v. Francis (1976) michctapp · cites it 6× “At issue was the availability of the tax exemption found in 1953 PA 189 , as amended, MCLA 211.181; MSA 7.7(5). The court disallowed the claim of exemption made by plaintiffs Aero Realty and Radway and defendants Bigelow and Francis, all lessees at Capital City Airport.”

Seymour v. Dalton Township (1989) michctapp · cites it 4× “1 Quoted in its present form, MCL 211.181; MSA 7.7(5) reflects amendments since the events giving rise to this appeal, but which are not material to the issues governing this appeal.”

Show all 38 citing cases →

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 211.181(1) — 17 cases

Nomads, Inc v. City of Romulus (1986) michctapp “from a Michigan Tax Tribunal judgment dismissing petitioner’s 1980 and 1982 lessee-user tax assessment appeals on the ground that it lacked jurisdiction over these assessments, and further dismissing petitioner’s appeal from the 1981 assessment on the ground that petitioner was…”

Avis Rent-A-Car System, Inc. v. City of Romulus (1977) mich “(MCLA 211.181; MSA 7.7[5]). 4 We find that subsection (2) of 1970 PA 174 is unconstitutional.”

National Exposition Co. v. City of Detroit (1988) michctapp “Petitioners dispute respondent’s assessment of lessee-user taxes, assessed pursuant to MCL 211.181; MSA 7.7(5). The Tax Tribunal upheld the assessment and petitioners appeal as of right.”

City of Kalamazoo v. Richland Township (1997) michctapp “(2) Subsection (1) shall not apply to: :|: * * (b) Property which is used as a concession at a public airport, park, market, or similar property and which is available for use by the general public.”

Golf Concepts v. City of Rochester Hills (1996) michctapp “Respondent nonetheless determined that the value of the land was taxable to petitioner under the lessee-user tax act, MCL 211.181; MSA 7.7(5). Under that statute, respondent assessed the two land parcels at $958,000 for the years 1992 through 1994.”

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 211.181(2) — 3 cases

Avis Rent-A-Car System, Inc. v. City of Romulus (1977) mich “(MCLA 211.181; MSA 7.7[5]). 4 We find that subsection (2) of 1970 PA 174 is unconstitutional.”

Avis Rent-A-Car System, Inc. v. City of Romulus (1975) michctapp

Bodeco LLC v. City of Traverse City (2025) michctapp

— Mich. Comp. Laws § 211.181(2)(b) — 7 cases

Skybolt Partnership v. City of Flint (1994) michctapp “134708 of these consolidated appeals, the City of Flint appeals as of right from an opinion and judgment of the Tax Tribunal holding that a portion of certain facilities occupied by petitioner Skybolt Partnership at Bishop International Airport in Flint constituted a leasehold…”

Seymour v. Dalton Township (1989) michctapp “1 Quoted in its present form, MCL 211.181; MSA 7.7(5) reflects amendments since the events giving rise to this appeal, but which are not material to the issues governing this appeal.”

AMERICAN GOLF v. City of Huntington Woods (1997) michctapp

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.