Marquette to Fight Tax Tribunal Case

The Marquette City Commission has approved and signed a joint defense agreement to fight a Michigan Tax Tribunal case. WE Energies is trying to have the taxable value of the Presque Isle Power Plant reduced by more than $100 million. If the Tax Tribunal agrees that the plant’s value should be reduced, it would save WE Energies millions a year in taxes. Marquette County and MARESA have already signed a joint defense agreement to share some of the city’s legal costs in fighting the case. There’s no timetable on when the case will come before the Michigan Tax Tribunal. WE Energies is Marquette’s largest single taxpayer. The company has claimed that the plant isn’t worth as much as it used to be with Cliffs Natural Resources now buying its electricity elsewhere and the plant losing most of its electric load.