Phillips 66 Refinery’s $1 Billion Property Tax Valuation Upheld

A Phillips 66 Co. oil refinery is valued at more than $1 billion for property tax purposes after the company failed to convince a Louisiana appeals court to accept its preferred depreciation rate.

Phillips 66 argued for a 64.6% depreciation rate, basing it on the sale of a similar property, the Puget Sound refinery in the Pacific Northwest. However, the company only provided a press release about the sale, which the court found insufficient. The Louisiana Court of Appeal, Third Circuit, upheld the Louisiana Tax Commission’s earlier decision supporting Calcasieu Parish’s 20% depreciation rate.

“Given the very limited and unverified ...