Because ... greedy trial lawyers?
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The Louisiana Supreme Court has upheld an appeals court ruling on the taxation of underground salt dome caverns that could mean some cavern owners will pay hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars more in property taxes annually to local government coffers.
The ruling in the Spectra Energy Corp. lawsuit out of St. Landry Parish also could lend a boost to assessors in other parishes trying to bring unreported and untaxed salt caverns onto the tax rolls for the first time.
The ruling centers on how salt dome caverns should be classified for taxation purposes: as land or a commercial improvement.
St. Landry Parish Assessor Rhyn Duplechain tells The Advocate (http://bit.ly/1lNkuJ0 ) the ruling is a win for his parish and others.