Funny: when Brown County landowners learn the county commission over-assessed their property for five years, Brown County says it’s not obliged to pay anything back but offers a dime-on-the-dollar break. But when Canadian pipeline company Enbridge feels it’s been assessed too much tax in Minnesota, it can go to court and win a ruling that may compel counties to pay Enbridge back in full:
The state of Minnesota has repeatedly overvalued Enbridge Energy’s oil pipeline system, a state Tax Court judge ruled Tuesday, possibly leaving several counties on the hook to pay tens of millions of dollars in tax refunds.
The Minnesota Department of Revenue overvalued Enbridge’s pipeline system by $2.2 billion in 2014 and by $880 million and $156 million respectively in 2013 and 2012, wrote Judge Joanne Turner of the Minnesota Tax Court.
…The tax court’s ruling didn’t directly establish refund amounts, but Turner agreed with Enbridge Energy’s position on some key points about pipeline valuation.
The company has said it was overtaxed by $15 million to $20 million during 2012 through 2014, the years covered by Tuesday’s court filing. Enbridge Energy has also sued the state for the tax years 2015 through 2017, cases which have yet to be heard. Enbridge claims that through all six years, it’s cumulatively due up to $55 million in refunds [Mike Hughlett, “Enbridge Prevails in Minnesota Property Tax Challenge,” Minneapolis Star-Tribune, 2018.05.15].
According to Judge Joanne H. Turner’s findings of fact, Minnesota’s Commissioner of Revenue was off by 4.3% in 2012, 26% in 2013, and 64% in 2014. Among other reasons for her decision, the judge agreed with Enbridge that the Commissioner’s use of stock and debt information for the Enbridge company as a whole involved other operations that did not accurately reflect the fair market value of the subsidiary operating this specific pipeline network. Unlike Brown County, Minnesota’s Commissioner of Revenue does not appear to broken the law; she just got the values wrong.
Minnesota counties may have a better case to make for the state to pay the refunds than Brown County does. In Minnesota, the state put the wrong value on Enbridge’s Lakehead pipeline system (which includes the pipe that spilled over a million gallons of tar sands oil in the Kalamazoo River in Michigan in 2010), while here, Brown County itself assigned the illegally inflated values to the ag land in dispute.
Brown County commissioners held a closed session to discuss the ag land dispute, then agreed to place the matter on the agenda for next week’s commission meeting. Brown County landowners, before that May 22 meeting, maybe you should talk to Enbridge’s legal team.
the judge agreed with Enbridge that the Commissioner’s use of stock and debt information for the Enbridge company as a whole involved other operations that did not accurately reflect the fair market value of the subsidiary operating this specific pipeline network.
I’m guessing all subsidiaries would be figured in if Enbridge wanted federal tax breaks and would be devalued when it came time to pay federal taxes.
Just like Drumpf’s golf courses. For propping up net worth, they are worth 50 mil. For tax purposes they lose 80% of their value overnight.
republicants
Do unto others until it gets in our pocket. Then everyone for themselves.
Vote ’em out.
MFI,
The valuation doesn’t matter when it comes to Federal taxes.
Mr. Jason, clearly you are insaner than most, but tell me; are you insaner than Mr. Howie (who took 3 years to pay me back the money he owed, he is a cheapskate and a tax criminal)
grudz, didn’t I already tell you that Jason was insaner than most?
They can afford it. It’s just the tax payers that end up paying. Just put this one in the file with the $100M Day Care for Islam file.
I have no idea what point OS is trying to make. I simply see an analogy here: Minnesota overcharged a taxpayer for years, and the court seems to expect Minnesota and the counties to pay the taxpayer back. Brown County has overtaxed landowners in several townships for years, but Brown County says it is not obliged to pay them back. Brown County landowners should check this Minnesota precedent.
OS is repeating right wing sites claim that Somalis stole 100 million from daycare and funded Jihad with the money.
I haven’t seen this story listed in a single mainstream outlet.
Who was it that called Trump’s White House an Adult Daycare?
Senator (soon retiring) Bob Corker of Tennessee, Roger.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nj6w-PwYbqM
Here ya go: https://www.facebook.com/mnsrc/videos/10156132359925853/
Enbridge today just announced a very large restructure plan. As an MLP (Master Limited Partnership) they control the limited partners without worrying about voting shareholders. A major tax change caused some of their sub-companies to go way down in value so they are scooping them up on the cheap to lower the high dividends paid by those companies and increase their own profits. Not an ethical move on their part – sold my interest today.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/enbridge-announces-simplification-corporate-structure-090000327.html
The whole world knows that FOX Entertainment manufactures propaganda, in keeping with Rupert Murdoch’s demands that local FOX affiliates also produce fake news.
If any source has FOX attached to it, you can bet it is likely fake news and not credible.
Like I said, only reported by right wing sites. Might be worth a look if mainstream media bothers to report it, otherwise it ain’t worth the wasted time it takes to peruse fake news.
Gone for months but easy to see the truth – and a dedication to that is of no importance here – fighting for your belief system is all you know.
“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool”. – Richard Feynmn