In NY if the land is tax exempt then they cannot tax the cell phone tower or the tower owner. In all my years in wireless there were many cell sites and towers built on tax exempt lands including the various counties and towns that would have been the tax assessment authorities. There were many cell sites built in Church Steeples or even disguise built crosses etc.
Most leases for towers and cell sites usually contain clauses that if there is any tax assessment increase due to said tower/site. That is a pass through cost to the entity that leased that land for said site. As has been mentioned, they are leases on the land. Tax assessments vary state by state, but if the property is exempt from taxes then the site is also exempt. The reason why many of these sites were on exempt property, they were most times exempt from zoning laws as well. Thank you, Brian Webster www.wirelessmapping.com From: AF [mailto:af-boun...@af.afmug.com] On Behalf Of Adam Moffett Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2025 2:38 PM To: AnimalFarm Microwave Users Group Subject: [AFMUG] Property Tax I'm seeing two cell phone towers on land owned by a fire department. The parcel info shows zero tax because obviously the fire department is tax exempt, and they do not show a separate parcel for the cell towers. I know it depends on the local laws, but is it likely the cell phone companies are getting a free ride on the property tax by placing on tax exempt property? If that's an avenue for tax avoidance, then I'm all about it. I'll do it all day long. I'm just wondering if anyone has experience with that. Could the tax man make it some special case where they bill the cell phone company separately? -Adam
-- AF mailing list AF@af.afmug.com http://af.afmug.com/mailman/listinfo/af_af.afmug.com
