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Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Stark County Denies Tax Benefits to New Business -- Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Link here.
Stark County Commission members denied the first-ever oil-related company request for a property tax exemption during a meeting at the Stark County Courthouse Tuesday.

Stark County Tax Director Diane Brines said after the meeting that the exemption would have allowed for more than $250,000 each year for the next five years.

Commissioners said they did not want to set a standard of giving exemptions to oil companies.
I don't know any more than this, what was printed in the paper. But my first thought is that the Stark County commissioners are doing the right thing. And not just because "the oil companies are doing so well right now." I run the risk of getting a lot of e-mail saying I don't know what I'm talking about, but taking that risk, here is my 2 cent worth: if you can't make it in the Bakken without help from the government, you ... well, I'll let others finish the thought. 

When I first read about this story some time ago (it was either the initial story or a similar story involving a different company), I felt that the company really didn't need the tax exemption, but was simply and appropriately taking advantage of all opportunities.

This might be a big headline story for Stark County pundits, but in the big scheme of things I doubt it amounts to much.

2 comments:

  1. Every business in Stark, Williams, Dunn, etc. is "oil-related." Giving any a subsidy is contrary to the public interest.

    Including hardware stores and motels. And newspapers. And blogs.

    Anon 1

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have no problem with property tax exemptions in certain cases. I have no problem with incentives.

    Off-topic, but to try to make the point.

    Many, many years ago, the city of Williston debated the pros/cons of the bypass that went around Williston. It certainly was not supported by the businesses down town (and there were no other businesses in Williston except downtown, but the city had a vision (thank goodness); the bypass was built and this area would be a disaster for everyone if that bypass did not exist. At that time, the bypass did not make much sense, but folks looked at the bigger picture and the city of Williston is much better off because of it.

    Some years ago, an area of Williston was pretty run down. The city granted some incentives, and things improved by new businesses moving in. The whole city benefited by getting rid of some of that (potential) blight.

    Williston is having trouble attracting professionals (geologists, physicians, particularly) because the city does not offer certain amenities. Some entrepreneurs are willing to bring in those amenities but they would need some help the first few years to get started. If these amenities mean the difference between losing/gaining geologists, physicians, etc., that could be seen by some to be a good investment.

    Not everything is digital (off/on; yes/no) in this world.

    I have no idea how incentives for blogs got into the discussion.

    ReplyDelete

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