GARYVILLE, La. (AP) - A Louisiana parish has received $10 million from an oil company that is its largest taxpayer and expects to receive another $10 million next month as the company makes payments on a higher tax bill.
Marathon Petroleum sent the first check earlier this month to government leaders in St. John the Baptist Parish, The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate reported. The second check is expected Jan. 15. The parish government, sheriff’s office and public school district will split the funds.
The petroleum company is slated to pay $44 million more in taxes to the parish in 2020 compared to this year. It’ll owe about $60 million to the parish altogether, up from about $16 million. The increase comes as about $3 billion in industrial tax breaks are set to expire, according to the newspaper.
Changes to Louisiana’s Industrial Tax Exemption Program allow localities to vote on whether to allow tax exemptions.
The St. John the Baptist Parish Council and public school board last month rejected a request from Marathon to exempt $25 million in already-completed work from property taxes, the newspaper reported. The sheriff’s office signed off on the request.
Officials reportedly said the increased taxes aren’t related to the decisions by the council and school board to deny the tax break request. Parish officials and the petroleum company worked together for the past two years on the advance payment, the newspaper reported.
Marathon operates a refinery in Garyville which employs more than 900 full-time workers and thousands more contractors, according to David Foster, who heads the facility.
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