County to lose $1.1 million after BHP tax reduction

The Equalization Board voted to cut the project's parent company's taxes by $1.1 million on the basis of a recommendation by the Nevada Department of Taxation.

The action taken Thursday goes into effect July 1, when the next fiscal year begins.

BHP pays taxes based on the assessed value of the property, which is about 35 percent of the taxable value, White Pine County Auditor Joe Petrelli said. He said next fiscal year BHP's assessed value will drop from $38 million to $21 million - a $17 million difference.

"That alone is about a $619,000 drop in property tax revenue," Petrelli told the Ely Daily Times.

BHP's assessed value this fiscal year is about $51 million - generating about $1.8 million in tax revenues, he said.

"Next year, when their assessed value drops to $21 million - they'll generate about $765,000 in tax revenue," he added. "You're looking at a difference of about $1.1 million dollars between this year and next."

Broken Hills Propriety, an Australian-based international minerals conglomerate, shut down the Robinson copper mine last June as part of its worldwide restructuring. Two North American communities were affected most - White Pine County and San Manuel, Ariz.

The closure's impact on White Pine was immediate. More than 400 mine workers lost their jobs, the White Pine School District saw nearly a 9 percent drop in student enrollment and the population plummeted.

The government entities most impacted by yesterday's decision will be the county and William Bee Ririe Hospital, Taxation Department budget analyst Jaynese Knight told the newspaper.

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