Terrence Wall’s tax dodge

It’s been speculated here (and elsewhere) that Madison-area developer Terrence Wall really wants to be Wisconsin’s next United States Senator, and that speculation has led to folks digging into Mr. Wall’s background.

Earlier today, the astute folks at One Wisconsin Now issued a press release noting the fact that while Terrence Wall’s development company, T. Wall Properties, purports to be a “Madison-based, award winning commercial real estate development firm,” the principle office of T. Wall properties is actually 1209 Orange Street in Wilmington, Delaware, according to Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions records.

It’s worth noting that according to the T. Wall Properties website, the company “owns more than 2.4 million square feet of space and over 750 acres of land making the company one of the largest developers in the State of Wisconsin.” The site for T. Wall properties lists 13 developments in the Madison area and two developments in Mesa, Arizona, but curiously, there’s not a single property listed as being developed by T. Wall properties in Delaware. According to the T. Wall Properties site, the company’s mailing address is a post office box in Madison, while the company’s physical address is in Middleton, Wisconsin.

If you’re wondering why in the world T. Wall properties would list their principle office as being in Wilmington, Delaware, look no further than the fact that until earlier this year, Wisconsin had a corporate tax loophole, commonly referred to as the “Las Vegas Loophole,” which involved companies establishing a phantom “headquarters” in a state without state corporate income taxes, states such as Nevada and Delaware, allowing those corporations to avoid paying state corporate income taxes in Wisconsin. The “Las Vegas Loophole” cost the state of Wisconsin an estimated $80 million annually in corporate tax revenue.

While I have no doubt Terrence Wall’s an astute businessman, the fact that he’s demonstrated he’s unwilling to pay his fair share of corporate taxes here in Wisconsin just shows how out of touch he really is with the people he aspires to represent. I pay my taxes, whether I like them or not, and it’s a shame Terrence Wall has avoided paying his fair share of corporate income taxes through the “Las Vegas Loophole.”