Latest news with #Indorama
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
DCS superintendent on demands for property tax refunds: 'When does this end?'
May 16—Decatur City Schools Superintendent Michael Douglas on Thursday said companies are increasingly demanding refunds of property taxes they have paid by pointing to external factors that arguably reduced the market value of their property, a practice that makes it impossible for the school system to control its budget. Douglas was focused on Hexcel, a Decatur manufacturer that has claimed in court that the market value of its equipment and real property fell due to COVID. The company asserts that an appraisal by the Morgan County revenue commissioner, used to make assessments for tax years 2021 and 2022, led to it paying $3.2 million more in taxes than it should have, Douglas said. Half of any refund to Hexcel would come from DCS. Last year, Douglas said, DCS had to refund over $200,000 to Indorama. According to court records, Indorama has two more pending claims seeking additional refunds. At issue is "economic obsolescence," which refers to a loss in an asset's value due to external factors outside the company's control. These factors can impact the asset's ability to generate income and its market value. "Who's to say four years from now they won't claim tariffs caused obsolescence?" Douglas said in a press conference Thursday. Complicating the problem for DCS is that it is not a party to Hexcel's court action even though its stands to lose the most money. Hexcel appealed the revenue commissioner's assessment to the Morgan County Board of Equalization, which affirmed the assessment. Now Hexcel — like Indorama — has appealed the Board of Equalization's decision to the Morgan County Circuit Court. Only the companies and the board are parties to the appeals. DCS has filed a motion to intervene in the Hexcel appeal which has not been ruled on by Circuit Judge Jennifer Howell. "We were told it's pretty much their decision what they settle for, and I'm like, if I'm paying half of the money back, shouldn't I have a seat at the table?" Douglas said. Because DCS is not a party to the action, Douglas said, he was unaware of the appeal — and the possibility that DCS would have to refund money it spent years ago — until April 25, when he met with the revenue commissioner. Hexcel's initial appeal was filed Aug. 12, 2021. "My teachers, my parents went through COVID. We don't get to claim obsolescence," Douglas said. "That billion dollar company already received about $3.4 million in tax abatements from the city, so why are they coming back now trying to get the money allocated to the schools?" Douglas said the budgetary impact on DCS could be devastating if other companies also claim an entitlement to refunds. "When does this end? I've got 50 industries up and down the river that can just arbitrarily (say), 'Hey, tough times. Obsolescence. We overpaid our taxes. We want money back.' "I don't know how a school system budgets when you're coming back after the fact. This is 2021, 2022 money that's already been spent." Douglas said Hexcel's claim impacts eight entities that receive property taxes, but DCS is hit the hardest because Hexcel is within the city limits. Refunds to companies like Indorama, which is outside city limits, have a greater impact on Morgan County Schools. A proposed settlement of the Hexcel claim that calls for a $1.4 million refund — $700,000 of it from DCS — has been agreed to by Hexcel, the state and the Morgan County Commission, but not by DCS. "There's only two ways to handle that. You either have to cut or you have to go into your savings," Douglas said. "Now thankfully we've been great stewards of our money. We're going to protect the classrooms, but we'll have to pass a deficit budget. My fear is ... where does this end? "Toray, Nucor Steel, 3M — all that industry up and down the river now have a playbook. All you've got to do is say, 'Obsolescence. My equipment's getting obsolete. I overpaid taxes.' I don't see how a school system continually takes $700,000 hits, $200,000 hits." He said DCS will absorb any refund they have to pay to Hexcel, but that could change in the future. "There will come a time when Decatur City Schools can't," he said, noting that a $700,000 cut translates to laying off 10 teachers. Hexcel manufactures polyacrylonitrile, a precursor to carbon fiber, at its Decatur plant. Its primary customers are in the commercial aerospace industry. In its appeal, it said COVID sharply reduced air travel, causing a "steep decline in demand for new aircraft from commercial airlines" and cancellation of numerous orders. It said these factors forced Hexcel to idle most of its Decatur facility, a fact that it argued should have reduced its property tax assessment. Walter Scott, Hexcel's lawyer, said the fault lies with the Morgan County Revenue Commission and its faulty valuation. "... The county delayed hiring an appraiser to test their valuation until 2025," he said in an email. "Once the county hired its own independent appraiser, from Chicago, he confirmed the county had overvalued and therefore overtaxed Hexcel's property. Hexcel therefore was forced to pay the increased tax and the county, and whoever benefits from the tax, has had the benefit of the company's money for all these years." Scott said the proposed settlement is considerably less than it could have been. "Hexcel continues to pay significant property taxes, and other taxes, and only seeks to be taxed fairly and in accordance with applicable laws so that it is not unfairly disadvantaged," he wrote. "Hexcel contributes to the community in many ways. Hexcel also employs members of the community who participate in the community paying taxes and contributing to philanthropic and civic organizations." Douglas said he wants state law to be revised so there is more clarity in valuations for property tax purposes. "There needs to be clear-cut rules for how industry is assessed, so there is no ambiguity," he said. — eric@ or 256-340-2435
Nikkei Asia
30-04-2025
- Business
- Nikkei Asia
Thai chemical giant Indorama weighs US project restart amid Trump tariffs
BANGKOK -- Thailand's Indorama Ventures, the world's top producer of the stuff PET bottles are made of, is looking to resume the construction of a halted U.S. factory worth more than $2 billion as it seeks to benefit from President Donald Trump's new tariff policy, its chief executive said. The company currently produces polyethylene terephthalate -- which besides holding convenience store beverages is used in consumer goods like clothing -- and additional plastic materials in Thailand, China, the U.S., Germany and 27 other countries. The U.S. and the rest of the Americas are key markets, accounting for $7.7 billion of the company's $15.54 billion in total revenue for 2024, according to Indorama.
The Star
29-04-2025
- Business
- The Star
Indorama to invest US$2bil in US as tariff talks go on
JAKARTA: A company rooted in Indonesia is slated to invest US$2 billion in a blue ammonia project in the United States as part of what President Prabowo Subianto called a 'win-win solution' in the ongoing tariff negotiations. Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto (pic), who led a top-tier Indonesian delegation to Washington, DC, for bilateral talks last week, revealed in a press conference on Monday (April 28) that Indorama, a diversified manufacturing company, would make the investment in the US state of Louisiana. He added that the US project had reached the front end engineering design stage, which is a planning phase one step on from the feasibility study. Airlangga noted that Indorama was already operating on US soil in the production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the most common thermoplastic polymer, which is used for packaging as well as for food and beverages containers, among many other products. 'Indorama is a multiproduct company. It started in Purwakarta and has expanded to various countries, including the US. In the US they have a PET facility, [where they make] bottles for soft drinks,' said Airlangga after making his first report to the President following his visit to the US. His team, which also included Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and Foreign Minister Sugiono, kicked off talks expected to take up to 60 days and aimed at averting steep import tariffs that the US has threatened to impose on Indonesian-made products. According to its website, Indorama Corporation was established in Purwakarta, West Java, in 1975 as a cotton yarn spinning business. The company has since expanded to the production of polyester fibre, PET and ammonia, among other goods, with operations in numerous countries, including Turkey, Thailand, Nigeria, Uzbekistan, India, Malaysia, Senegal, Nigeria, Brazil and Georgia. Airlangga did not explain what might happen to Indorama's investment should the bilateral negotiations fail to satisfy the two parties. Airlangga presented Indorama's investment as part of Indonesia's package of concessions to the US, alongside exclusive tariff cuts for the benefit of US companies, deregulation and an offer to import more American-made products to balance out bilateral trade in a bid to placate the White House to avert exorbitant tariffs that the US has characterised as a 'reciprocal' measure. Indorama has not immediately responded to The Jakarta Post's request for comment. Airlangga said Indonesia had made a 'fair and square' offer to bump up imports of US products by 'more than US$19.5 billion', which would go beyond the US$18 billion by which Indonesian exports to the US exceeded imports from the US last year. Prabowo said earlier this month that the archipelago could import more wheat, soybeans and cotton, alongside liquefied petroleum gas, oil and oil drilling machines from the US. The bilateral negotiations with the US are to continue over the next two months with the aim of concluding them well before the 90 days US President Donald Trump has granted trading partners to come to terms with Washington. Airlangga revealed that critical minerals were discussed in the talks but refrained from divulging more details. Indonesia is the world's largest producer and holds the biggest estimated reserves of nickel, a key material for most of the batteries used in electric vehicles built by US-based carmaker Tesla Inc. Over the past weeks, the minister has refused to specify what the archipelago is asking of the US in the negotiations, but he disclosed in the press conference that the delegation was lobbying for equality. 'For Indonesia's main export commodities to America, Indonesia requests that our tariffs be equal with [those imposed on goods from] other countries, be they Vietnam or Bangladesh, so that we get an equal, level playing field,' said Airlangga. The reciprocal tariffs imposed by the US, but suspended for 90 days to allow for negotiations, vary from one country to another. Bangladesh and Vietnam are subject to rates of 37 and 46 per cent, respectively, both higher than the 32 per cent to be imposed on Indonesia. Much like Jakarta, Dhaka and Hanoi are engaging with Washington to try and avert the tariffs, which would make their goods much less competitive in the US, the world's largest consumer market. Airlangga said the government has formed three new task forces to 'expedite the negotiations' on investment and trade and to deal with economic security, domestic employment and deregulation. Speaking to the Post on Monday, Centre of Economic and Law Studies executive director Bhima Yudistira deemed Indorama's investment as a significant move and added that each investment made by Indonesian companies in the US could serve as a bargaining chip for Jakarta in the negotiations. BCA chief economist David Sumual concurred, telling the Post on Monday that Indonesia's offshore investments had mainly concentrated on emerging markets of the Global South, like China, as well as African and Middle Eastern countries. He went on to say that the key to negotiating with Washington was less about trade balancing deals and more about aligning with US strategic interests, like industrial reshoring, which could be done through investment on US soil. 'That [investment] is what Trump really wants, which is why he uses tariffs as a negotiation tool rather than quotas,' David said, explaining that Trump's real goal was to kick-start US reindustrialisation, which was a key interest for his electoral base in labor-intensive industries that had seen mass layoffs. He added that US allies, such as Japan and Taiwan, appeared to have recognised that offering investment was the key to pleasing Trump and that Indonesia's request for equal tariffs was the 'correct' tactic in the dealmaking process, the idea being that, if other countries succeed in reducing or eliminating US tariffs imposed on them, Indonesia should be afforded the same treatment. Bank Permata chief economist Josua Pardede said Indorama's US investment plan could be considered part of a package offer, 'for example, buying ammonia from a project in the US to support the growth of a sustainable fertiliser industry in [Indonesia].' The move showed a willingness on the part of Indonesia to invest in strategic sectors that could improve industrial relations between the two countries, he said. 'Thus, Indorama's investment signifies mutually beneficial economic diplomacy,' Josua told the Post on Monday. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
