APNewsBreak: Texas rejects Valero tax break bid

HOUSTON (AP) - The Texas environmental agency has rejected a request by oil giant Valero to get a large tax break at six refineries, exemptions that could have triggered refunds of up to $92 million that would have come out of the budgets of cash-strapped school districts and municipalities.

The Associated Press on Wednesday obtained letters dated Dec. 14 that were sent by Mark Vickery, executive director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, to Valero's six refineries. The letters state that the agency has rejected the request for a partial tax exemption.

The agency's move indicates that it will also reject 10 other similar requests. An AP analysis of the applications and tax information indicated that if granted, Texas school districts and municipalities would have had to refund up to $135 million.

Valero did not immediately respond to phone messages and emails seeking comment.

The request has been pending since 2007, when Valero first asked for a full exemption on hydrotreater units it installed at six refineries in Texas. It argued that the units reduced pollution and so should be exempt from taxes under a Texas rule that grants breaks to companies with equipment that cleans the environment.

But the hydrotreaters were installed after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2006 began requiring refineries to remove sulfur dioxide from crude oil.

The TCEQ rejected Valero's request, stating the pollution reductions were being enjoyed in other regions, not where the refineries are located. Valero appealed and the commissioners asked the agency's staff to consider a partial rejection.

Now, the agency has denied the partial request as well. Valero can appeal that decision to the commissioners.

Source: http://www.kboi2.com/news/business/APNewsBreak-Texas-rejects-Valero-tax-break-bid-136000723.html

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