United States: More than $50 million in credits awarded to pipeline company.Byline: manish03 Tax waivers granted to a multibillion-dollar Canadian energy company for a crude oil pipeline that will run through the state will cost local governments almost three times as much in lost property tax revenue than previously believed. But there's some question whether local governments have any legal basis to challenge whether the project meets legal requirements for the exemption. Meanwhile, the Kansas Department of Commerce has already decided the project does qualify. "We did sign a contract (with TransCanada Pipeline The TransCanada pipeline is a system of natural gas pipelines, up to 48 inches (1219 millimetres) in diameter, that carries gas through Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. It is maintained by TransCanada PipeLines, LP. It is the longest pipeline in Canada. ) in June for $55.49 million in tax credits," said Joe Monaco, a spokesman for the Commerce Department. The credits will be issued to TransCanada in 10 installments over 14 years. No payment has been made yet. On the other hand, there has not yet been a ruling on whether the pipeline will also be exempt from property taxes, an exemption that could be worth $1.2 million to Dickinson County Dickinson County is the name of three counties in the United States:
The 36-inch pipeline, which is part of what TransCanada calls its Keystone pipeline This article or section contains information about a planned or expected pipeline. It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the construction and/or completion of the pipeline approaches, and more information becomes available. , will run nearly due south through the state on its way from Steele City, Neb., to Cushing, Okla. It will pass through Washington, Clay, Dickinson, Marion, Butler and Cowley counties. It is to carry crude oil from Canadian tar sands Tar sands is a common name of what are more properly called bituminous sands, but also commonly referred to as oil sands or (in Venezuela) extra-heavy oil. They are a mixture of sand or clay, water, and extremely heavy crude oil. to Pakota, Ill., Cushing and the Gulf of Mexico Noun 1. Gulf of Mexico - an arm of the Atlantic to the south of the United States and to the east of Mexico Golfo de Mexico Atlantic, Atlantic Ocean - the 2nd largest ocean; separates North and South America on the west from Europe and Africa on the east . TransCanada told the state this summer that it will cost $740 million to build the 210-mile leg of the Keystone pipeline through Kansas. Based on that figure and estimates derived by the Kansas Department of Revenue, the loss in property taxes in the first year (based on current levies) to the six counties in the pipeline's path will be: Washington $1.9 million Clay $1.3 million Dickinson $1.2 million Marion $1.9 million Butler $1.2 million Cowley $1 million No Kansas interconnects At a meeting in Abilene on Wednesday of officials from five of those counties, a consensus emerged to question whether the pipeline qualifies for any tax exemptions tax exemption, immunity from the requirement of paying taxes. Federal, state, and usually local law provide exemption from taxation for a wide variety of organizations, usually not-for-profit, such as churches, colleges, universities, health care providers, various . The law creating the exemptions defines a qualifying pipeline as one "to which refineries ... in this state have access." But there will be no interconnects in Kansas, a spokesman for TransCanada, Jim Prescott, said this week. Instead, Kansas refineries will use their existing connections to Cushing to access Keystone key·stone n. 1. Architecture The central wedge-shaped stone of an arch that locks its parts together. Also called headstone. 2. The central supporting element of a whole. oil. The law, which grants both income tax credits and property tax exemptions, lets the Commerce Department decide whether the pipeline qualifies for tax breaks. But existing regulations and case law require that property tax exemptions be handled by the Department of Revenue and approved by the Board of Tax Appeals. "The pipeline company will file application with Revenue," said Tony Folsom, deputy director of the Property Valuation Division. "Staff will review it to make sure it's accurate. The director makes comments on the application; he can recommend it be granted or not." Copyright : Euclid Infotech Pvt. Ltd. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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