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- Don M. Millis
As a shareholder in Reinhart’s Tax Practice, Don Millis leverages his extensive experience, knowledgeable team and network of connections to help clients realize their potential through successful tax strategies. He leads the largest tax litigation practice in Wisconsin and serves as co-chair of the firm’s Government Relations Group. Don represents all manner of businesses, including many national firms, in resolving property tax, sales/use tax and income/franchise tax disputes.
He is committed to working with each client and taxing authority to resolve matters at a minimal cost. When they can’t arrive at a satisfactory solution, he moves to effective and efficient litigation strategies. These strategies have consistently saved his clients millions of dollars in state and local taxes. Don’s clients include many large, national companies as well as local and regional businesses facing challenging tax assessments by the state or local government.
Clients appreciate Don’s straightforward advice and professional demeanor in fostering collaboration. He thrives in defending the rights of businesses, shareholders and employees to pursue free enterprise without excessive tax burdens.
Don is a former member and chair of the Wisconsin Tax Appeals Commission (1995 to 2004), the agency that resolves disputes between the Wisconsin Department of Revenue and taxpayers involving income tax, sales and use tax, property tax and real estate transfer fees. He represents clients before local and state assessors, the Tax Appeals Commission, circuit courts, the court of appeals and the Wisconsin Supreme Court. He also has extensive experience working in the legislature on tax and related policy and lobbying the legislature and the Wisconsin Department of Revenue on all aspects of tax law.
Don is currently chair of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, the state agency that oversees elections in Wisconsin. This is Don’s second stint on the Elections Commission. He previously served as a member and chair the State of Wisconsin Elections Board, a predecessor agency to the Elections Commission.
Don is president of WE International, a nonprofit organization that fights poverty and injustice in Africa. He travels to Africa to assist with various programs and, in 2018, joined a team to climb Kilimanjaro as part of an effort to raise awareness of gender-based violence.
Along with his advocacy work, Don enjoys hiking, biking and spending time with his wife and five children.
Education
- J.D., cum laude, University of Wisconsin Law School
- B.A., University of Wisconsin-Madison (Journalism and Political Science)
Bar Admissions
Wisconsin
Court Admissions
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Wisconsin
Practices
Successfully represented the state’s largest business organization in a Wisconsin Supreme Court case forcing the department of revenue to issue tax guidance with administrative rules
Represented North America’s two largest shopping mall REITs
Successfully represented Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare before the Wisconsin Supreme Court in a property tax dispute with the City of Wauwatosa, securing a property tax refund of approximately $8.4 million
Obtained the two largest nonutility property tax refunds–both in excess of $2 million–in Wisconsin history on behalf of two different Fortune 500 companies
Successfully represented Walgreen Co. in Walgreen Co. v. City of Madison, a major property tax case decided by the Wisconsin Supreme Court
Secured a contested property tax exemption for a specialty hospital
Negotiated a $23 million reduction in the property tax assessment for a single condominium development
Obtained successive reductions in the property tax assessment of an apartment complex at less than the complex’s purchase price
Successfully defended a national telecommunications company against a class action suit brought on behalf of hundreds of thousands of customers alleging the company had unlawfully charged sales tax on its services
Represents the entire portfolio of Wisconsin properties for a number of Wisconsin businesses and property owners
Spent several years working on policy in the Wisconsin Senate, gaining experience and insight in both the legislative and executive branches of government
Practiced complex commercial litigation; his court skills set him apart from many other tax practitioners
Honors
Best Lawyers in American Madison “Lawyer of the Year (Tax Law, 2014)
Best Lawyers in America Madison (Tax Law)
Selected for inclusion in Wisconsin Super Lawyers
Affiliations
Institute of Professionals in Taxation
Wisconsin State and Local Tax Club
International Association of Assessing Officers
State Bar of Wisconsin
Western District of Wisconsin Bar Association
Dane County Bar Association
Wisconsin Elections Commission (Chair)
Wisconsin Tax Appeals Commission (former chairperson)
Wisconsin State Elections Board (former member and chairperson)
Safe Communities in Madison (former Board Member)
WE International, Inc. (Board President)
Lake Waubesa Bible Camp (President)
Affordable Dental Care (Board Member)
News & Insights
Machinery, Tools & Patterns, Oh My!
Multimedia
Gov. Evers Signs Wisconsin COVID-19 Relief Act Into Law
Alerts & Updates
93 Reinhart Attorneys Named 2020 Best Lawyers in America
Press Releases
97 Reinhart Attorneys Named 2019 Best Lawyers in America; 13 are “Lawyers of the Year”
In the News, Press Releases
“Is This the ‘New Normal?’ Distinguishing Between Temporary and Permanent Impacts of the Pandemic,” ABA/IPT Advanced Tax Seminar, March 17, 2022
Institute for Professionals In Taxation, annual property tax seminar in Palm Springs, California; Orlando, Florida; and Seattle, Washington
International Association of Assessing Officers, annual legal seminars in San Francisco, California and Chicago, Illinois
American Game Breeders Association, annual convention in Nashville, Tennessee
Frequent speaker at the National Association of Property Tax Attorneys, Chicago, Illinois