CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas —
Nueces County Chief Appraiser Ronnie Canales told 3NEWS that he feels it's about time local refineries pay their fair share in property taxes.
Canales said that recently, the appraised values of Flint Hills and Valero refineries both have increased to the $6 billion range.
But for the last five years, Canales said Citgo, Valero, and Flint Hills have been able to contest their appraisals, bringing their values down to only about $1 billion.
This year, he said, the refineries' appraisals have undergone significant changes.
"Citgo had some type of increase, as well, but the main two refineries -- Valero and Flint Hills -- they were increased pretty much to almost 6 billion apiece," he said.
3NEWS reached out to representatives from all three refineries, but Flint Hills was the only one to respond.
A public information officer stated that the company was reviewing the new appraisal numbers, but had no comment at this time.
"At the end of the day, I feel they should be paying just as much as what they need to pay," he said. "In other words: Pay their fair share. You know the properties are worth that much."
Canales fully expects Valero and Flint Hills to contest their new appraisals.
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