Court Opinion

ID: 9657360
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 20:22:55.599598+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:13:44.175725
License: Public Domain

DYKMAN, P.J.
¶ 34. (dissenting). In a nutshell, the majority has concluded that it does not like giving the legislative exemption for certain mobile homes to everybody who qualifies, and therefore gives it to nobody. While I agree in principle that exemptions from taxation should be limited because they narrow the tax base, I cannot join the majority opinion because I conclude that its opinion is a legislative rather than a judicial act. I will explain this conclusion.
¶ 35. In its budget bill for 1984, the legislature defined a "mobile home" for property tax purposes. See 1983 Wis. Act 342. Because Wisconsin distinguishes between real estate and personal property in some tax contexts, the new definition explained when a mobile home was personal property and when it was real estate. Wisconsin levies taxes on most real estate and on some personal property. Mobile homes have some characteristics of each. In many contexts, the difference is not relevant, but because the legislature has exempted from taxation some mobile homes that are personal property, the distinction is often important. WISCONSIN Stat. § 70.043 (1997-98)1 defines when a mobile home is personal property and when it is real estate:
*157(1) A mobile home, as defined in s. 66.058(l)(d), is an improvement to real property if it is connected to utilities and is set upon a foundation upon land which is owned by the mobile home owner. In this section, a mobile home is "set upon a foundation" if it is off its wheels and is set upon some other support.
(2) A mobile home, as defined in s. 66.058(l)(d), is personal property if the land upon which it is located is not owned by the mobile home owner or if the mobile home is not set upon a foundation or connected to utilities.
¶ 36. In 1991, the legislature decided to exempt small qualifying mobile homes from personal property taxation. See 1991 Wis. Act 269, § 490m. But the exemption is not available if the mobile home is realty. The exemption statute, Wis. Stat. § 70.111(19)(b), exempts: "Mobile homes, as defined in s. 66.058, that are no larger than 400 square feet and that are used primarily as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel or seasonal purposes."
¶ 37. When it enacted WlS. STAT. § 70.111(19)(b), the legislature was aware of WlS. Stat. § 70.043(1) and of Wis. Stat. § 348.10(5)(c), which requires that a mobile home must have at least thirty-five pounds of tongue weight.2 Both statutes were in existence when the legislature enacted the present version of *158§ 70.111(19)(b). Thus, the legislature knew that a mobile home could not legally have all of its weight rest on its wheels. Moreover, an exempt mobile home which carried all of its weight on its wheels would be ridiculous — it would behave like a forty-foot-long teeter-totter. The majority's rationalization that "an owner may preserve a unit's mobile character by simply leaving it on its wheels and no other supports" may be true, but an owner who does so is in for hair-raising experiences when getting up in the night to visit the bathroom. I find it doubtful that the legislature intended this.
¶ 38. What the majority has concluded is that no mobile home located on its owner's real estate can be exempted from taxation unless the owner disconnects the mobile home from its utilities. The majority reaches this conclusion because it requires one hundred percent of the mobile home's weight to be carried on its wheels before the exemption applies. But no such mobile home exists. Under WlS. STAT. § 348.10(5)(c), all mobile homes must have at least thirty-five pounds of their weight rest on something other than their wheels, and it is that thirty-five pounds that the majority uses to disqualify all 400-square-foot or less, landowner-occupied, utility-connected mobile homes from personal property tax-exempt status.
¶ 39. The legislature must have intended to exempt some mobile homes from personal property taxes when it enacted WlS. STAT. § 70.111(19)(b). The legislature was aware of WlS. STAT. § 70.043(1) and the significance of the distinction between mobile homes that are personal property and mobile homes that are real estate. Had the legislature wanted to tax small utility-connected mobile homes located on their owners' real estate, it could easily have done so in *159§ 70.111(19). But it did not. The only rational explanation of the exemption is that it applies to all small qualifying mobile homes located on their owners' real estate.
¶ 40. There is nothing in WlS. STAT. § 70.111(19)(b) suggesting an exemption carefully crafted so as to apply to no one who owned the property upon which his or her utility-connected mobile home would be placed. That concept just cannot be gleaned from the words of § 70.111(19)(b). On its face, § 70.111(19)(b) applies to mobile homes placed upon their owners' real estate. It defies common sense to conclude that the legislature had a secret wish to deny exemption to all mobile homes if they were connected to utilities and located on their owners' land. But that is what the majority opinion accomplishes.
¶ 41. The legislature is also presumed to use words of the English language in their normal and ordinary sense. See WlS. STAT. § 990.01(1); State v. Ehlenfeldt, 94 Wis. 2d 347, 356, 288 N.W.2d 786 (1980). "Off its wheels" is not a difficult or ambiguous concept. Anyone who has changed a car tire or watched a tire being changed is fully aware of the significance between the tire touching or not touching the ground. If the tire remains touching the ground, it cannot be changed. If there is a space between the tire and the ground, the vehicle is off that wheel. If all four tires do not touch the ground, the vehicle is off its wheels. If they touch, it is on its wheels. To interpret the phrase "off its wheels" as the majority has done to mean "on its wheels" just does not make sense. Under this definition, every mobile home or trailer traveling on our highways is doing so "off its wheels."
¶ 42. "Off its wheels" is a concept easily determined by assessors. All they have to do is bend down *160and look. If there is space between a mobile home's tires and the ground, it is "off its wheels." If there is not, then it is not "off its wheels." Interpreting the statute as written will cause no hardship for assessors.
¶ 43. The majority explains its decision by noting:
To argue that mobile homes such as most of those described in this record, which not only rest upon blocks or jacks, but also have extensive additions and attachments on stationary footings, remain "mobile" in character because the owners have chosen to leave wheels under them, defies the purpose of the legislative distinction and, as the Town argues, provides opportunities for manipulation of the property taxation system.
¶ 44. I agree that exemptions from taxation can alter people's behavior; that is true of all exemptions. People who want an exemption will tailor their actions to fit the exemption. Many people seek tax advice on how to take advantage of the income tax code's provisions. This is not illegal, immoral, or unethical. The majority views a qualifying mobile home as a "manipulation of the property taxation system." That it may be, but the legislature has made the policy decision that the mobile homes which distress the majority are still mobile homes, and still exempt from personal property taxation. WISCONSIN Stat. § 66.058(l)(d) describes a mobile home as the vehicle itself "and includes any additions, attachments, annexes, foundations and appurtenances." I see no reason for a court to adopt a rationalization that tax exemptions are not available to those who actively seek them, because that constitutes "manipulation."
*161¶ 45. I would read the words of the statutes involved for what they say. Their language is neither complicated nor technical. If that language results in an exemption from taxation, so be it. If the legislature feels that a different policy regarding small mobile home taxation is appropriate, it can easily adopt that new policy. I probably agree with the majority's view that an exemption for small, landowner-occupied, utility-connected mobile homes is inappropriate public policy. But I am unwilling to judicially repeal the statute granting the exemption, even in part. Therefore, I respectfully dissent.

A11 references to the Wisconsin Statutes are to the 1997-98 version unless otherwise noted.

 Wisconsin Stat. § 348.10(5)(c) provides:
(5) The load imposed upon trailers or semitrailers shall be distributed in a manner that will prevent side sway under all conditions of operation:
(c) The load carried by any trailer, semitrailer or mobile home shall beso positioned that a weight of not less than 35 pounds is imposed at the center of the point of attachment to the towing vehicle when parked on a level surface.