Bill > A4065

Introduced Session

This bill clarifies the application of the business personal property tax on local exchange telephone companies that were subject to the tax as of April 1, 1997. This bill clarifies the changes made in 1997 to the business personal property tax that defined local exchange telephone companies that were subject to that tax as of April 1, 1997. The Tax Court in Verizon New Jersey Inc. v. Hopewell Borough, which was decided on June 26, 2012, has incorrectly construed the plain meaning of the language of the statutory change made in 1997. That statutory change was intended to grandfather into the local property tax base the business personal property of all incumbent local exchange companies that were then subject to that tax and were a telecommunications carrier then meeting the one time definition, not an annual redefinition, of providing dial tone and access to 51% of a local telephone exchange. Local exchange telephone companies have taken advantage of the incorrect interpretation of the statute and has informed 65 municipalities that it will no longer pay tax on its business personal property, such as equipment, utility poles, cables and more in any given municipality where it claims on an annual basis that it does not provide 51% or more of landline service to its residents. This unintended erosion of the local property tax base will impact all other local property taxpayers in these and possibly more municipalities. This bill will restore the intended local property tax status quo intended to be determined in 1997. This bill also imposes the business personal property tax on the business personal property of wireless telephone companies. That business personal property would include small cell network nodes, which are low -powered radio access nodes that generally consist of small radios and antennas that are two or three feet long and placed on existing and new utility poles, street lights, signs, and signal light poles with the purpose of increasing the capacity of wireless network service.

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Ronald Dancer (R)*, 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Appropriations Committee (on 05/07/2020)