Terra protests part of Verdigris property tax

Claremore, Okla.-Terra Industries officials say their protest of a portion of the property taxes on Terra’s Verdigris, Okla., nitrogen plant just amounts to a “friendly disagreement” with local officials. “We want to be a good corporate citizen and pay our fair taxes,” said Joe Ewing, Terra’s vice president for investor relations, “but we want to make sure we’re fairly valued and pay the proper amount.” Ewing said that between $200,000 and $300,000 is involved and that the issue is the way the property is valued; local press reports said Terra is taking Rogers County to court. County Assessor Melissa Anderson reportedly advised the county commission that she is hiring Price, Waterhouse, Cooper LLC for an appraisal of Terra’s Verdigris plant. “It’s a unique property,” Anderson was quoted in the press as saying. “The loss of revenue if we don’t do our job could be tremendous.” Ewing told Green Markets that Terra has already paid most of its property taxes – reported in the press as $985,928 – leaving only the smaller portion in dispute.