SC Johnson was granted the property tax exemption after Gov. Jim Doyle issued an executive order on Jan. 10 last year designating the Administration Building and Research Tower a "cultural and architectural landmark," and calling Project Honor an "educational tourist center."

This is the only such executive order Doyle has made while in office, and only the third in state history, according to the Legislative Reference Bureau. Gov. Tommy Thompson issued the other two executive orders - for Taliesin in 1993 and Holy Hill in 1998.

Dale Knapp, research director of the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, said in an e-mail that he thought it was "unusual" for SCJ to receive this exemption.

"I don't know the history of the exemption, but I imagine the idea was to encourage preservation of certain historic buildings," Knapp said.

The governor's office did not answer questions about why Doyle issued the order. A staff member did say that often executive orders are requested, but the office did not have information about which entities have requested this particular executive order.

Michael DeGuelle, a former state tax manager at SCJ, said he was in charge of working on the tax exemptions while employed there.

A letter from the Department of Revenue to DeGuelle, dated March 18, 2008, confirmed they had received DeGuelle's property exemption request and said the property would become exempt beginning with the Jan. 1 assessment.

"I was directed by (SC Johnson CEO) Fisk Johnson to pursue this project," he said. "I was responsible, the lead person at the company responsible for the project." DeGuelle has been sued by SCJ, which says he was fired in April for taking confidential company information. He has previously told The Journal Times that he plans to pursue his own litigation against the company.

Under state statutes, properties that are declared cultural and architectural landmarks by an executive order from the governor can get property tax exemptions.

Because of the tax exemption, SCJ will save an estimated $40,000 in taxes a year for the Wright buildings, said SCJ spokeswoman Kelly Semrau. In 2008, the parcel including the Administration Building and Tower was assessed at more than $1.6 million, according to the state Department of Revenue.

The company estimates it would save between $150,000 and $200,000 a year under an exemption for Fortaleza Hall, Semrau said. No assessment is available for that property.