ATCO gets $33,000 tax break

Published 10:42 am Friday, February 7, 2014

From staff reports

Vicksburg ­— Anderson-Tully will see a $33,513 decrease in taxes the company pays Warren County on wood products outside the state, as per county supervisors’ approval Monday. The lumber processor had applied for the “free port warehousing” exemption last summer as part of a larger request, since approved, to reduce its property taxes as well. Calculations were finalized by John Lewis, of Brandon-based Statewide Appraisal, the Tax Assessor’s Office’s contract appraiser for personal property, which refers to assets not tied to land.
The company had filed a petition for reduction of assessed value on personal property. The assessed value was $3,271,768 and ATCO sought a reduction of $826,869. The taxes based on $3,271,768 was to be $132,604.76 but was reduced by $33,513 to $99,091.76.
In the application filed last June, the company put a $9.6 million value on its inventory and non-real estate assets. The documents said the firm employs 200 people at its facility on North Washington Street on a $13 million payroll. Equipment added or upgraded in 2012 had added another $2.5 million to their overall request, a list that included track machine and upgrades to a shaker machine.
In Mississippi, local governing authorities may grant full exemptions on personal property held and stored before being shipped to places outside the state.
A full exemption from property taxes may be granted by local governing authorities on personal property that is being held and stored prior to transport to a final destination outside the state. Cities and counties have the authority to set how long the exemption is in effect. ATCO’s is indefinite.
Such tax breaks are exempt from school and state taxes.

This story corrects one that appeared in the Tuesday, Feb. 4 edition.

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