INDReporter

Top prop-tax payers facing huge increases

by Leslie Turk

The companies that pay the most in property tax will shell out a combined $3.6 million more each year should the proposed increase pass Saturday.

Should the property tax increase pass Saturday, much-needed school repair and construction projects would get under way soon, but the biggest taxpayers will have to shell out a combined $3.6 million in increases each year, according to an analysis of the top 10 payers from the parish tax assessor's office. AT&T would be hardest hit, paying almost $2.7 million in property taxes, which is an additional $612,000 annually.

The LPSS tax proposition would increase the property tax burden for businesses and homeowners about 29 percent. But, as this Sept. 21 Independent analysis reveals, Lafayette Parish would still be low on the tax-burden totem poll.

The tax assessor's analysis of the top 10 property-tax paying businesses does not reflect the actual tax amounts that were paid by these taxpayers. Because these companies have offices and/or operations inside and outside of municipalities, the office used the lowest total millage rate for parish-wide taxes. This means that if a company has operations in unincorporated Lafayette Parish or in the city of Broussard, the tax amounts would actually be higher.