USA: Anheuser-Busch claiming nearly $3 million in property tax refunds

A lawsuit filed by Fairfield-based Anheuser-Busch brewery claiming nearly $3 million in property tax refunds will receive further hearing early next year in Solano County Superior Court, The Reported communicated on September 20.

On September 19, Judge R. Michael Smith scheduled 8:30 a.m. Jan. 30, 2007, for a case management conference and possible hearing on stipulation of facts in the case brought against Solano County in May by Anheuser-Busch, Inc.

The brewer is asking for more than $2.8 million in property tax refunds from the county, plus interest, charging that the county incorrectly assessed the valuation of its property in 2000 and failed to respond promptly to Anheuser-Busch's request for hearing on a reduction of the tax assessment.

At issue is Solano County's 2000-01 assessment of the Fairfield brew site - including improvements and fixtures - which the county claimed should be valued at $237,281,023. Anheuser-Busch, however, argues that the property should have been assessed at $118 million due to the facility's age and "the relative technical obsolescence of the brewery's equipment, compared with current brewing practices and technology."

22 September, 2006