Latest news with #LeeCompany
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
World's top businesses, Lee Company receive biggest Tennessee tax rebates
The Lee Company, owned by Gov. Bill Lee's family. received Tennessee's biggest business tax rebate. Lee's office has consistently said his company interest is in a blind trust. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout) Some of the world's largest companies and the governor's family business received Tennessee's biggest new business tax rebate, according to a listing released by the Department of Revenue. Lee Company, a mechanical engineering and HVAC, plumbing and electrical services company owned by Gov. Bill Lee's family, joined Amazon, FedEx, Nissan, Hankook Tire, 84 Lumber, AT&T and utilities such as Atmos Energy and Alabama Power in netting franchise and excise tax rebates of more than $10,000 each created by a 2024 state law. Memphis-based FedEx, with 13 subsidiaries, landed the maximum rebate for each one, and Japanese-owned Nissan filed for six subsidiaries that each received the rebate. A governor's spokesperson did not respond to questions Monday, but his office consistently says he put his interest in Lee Company into a blind trust during his governorship, though he could benefit when he leaves the post late in 2026. Other notable companies among the 16,000 receiving the state's maximum break in its business property tax include Bridgestone, Ingram Partners, Aegis Sciences, Ajax Turner, Ascension Care, BNSF Railway Co., Carhartt Inc., Ford Motor Co, Volkswagen, Coca-Cola Bottling, Denso Manufacturing, Elvis Presley Enterprises, Gannett Co., Frito-Lay Inc., Pilot and Pilot Travel Centers and Brown-Forman, the owner of Jack Daniel's. Popular Nashville spots such as Frothy Monkey, Jeff Ruby's, Von Elrod's and Bourbon Street Blues & Boogie Bar took the rebate as well. In all, about 60,000 companies received three-year refunds ranging from less than $750 to between $750 and $10,000. The estimated $1.5 billion in refunds and tax cuts, a large number of them made to out-of-state companies, appears to be having an immediate impact on the state budget. Tennessee's business tax collections on property and earnings are $335 million short of projections through the first four months of the year — 11% off the mark — according to the Department of Finance and Administration. The tax cut amounts to more than $400 million annually. Tennessee lawmakers approved the refunds and franchise tax break in 2024 when Department of Revenue officials said the state faced legal threats over its business taxes. Despite the shortfall, Republican Lt. Gov. Randy McNally said in a Monday statement: 'I believe now, as I did at the time, that the rebates were the most responsible course due to the strong probability that the state would be in a worse fiscal position after impending litigation. Based on the advice of the attorney general, we were simply not willing to take that kind of risk with Tennessee's financial future on the line and I stand by that decision.' Other lawmakers such as House Majority Leader William Lamberth, a Portland Republican, said last year they supported Gov. Bill Lee's legislation because it was good policy, not because of legal threats. Some 80 companies reportedly sent letters to the state requesting rebates. 'Conservative budgeting and fiscal responsibility over the past decade have placed our state in a strong financial position,' Lamberth said in a statement Monday. 'The significant tax cut we approved last year reinvested dollars right back into the businesses, communities and workers that fuel the Volunteer State's economy.' The state's lists, which will be on the Department of Revenue website for only 30 days, don't detail the exact amount of rebates, but the largest amount could run from $10,000 to $75,000. State Sen. Heidi Campbell, a Nashville Democrat, blasted the move as a 'corporate tax refund scheme' and encouraged people to check the list to see which companies are benefiting. Campbell said lawmakers approved the measure without a lawsuit or court ruling, Tennessee's largest companies secure sales tax exemptions for everything from jet fuel to water 'Just a letter from corporate attorneys and a political class eager to please.' Campbell added the state is dealing with its biggest budget deficit of the year as a result. The legislature refused to take action this year on grocery sales tax reductions, one sponsored by Democrats accompanied by an effort to go after offshore accounts used to hide income and one backed by Republicans that offered no way to offset the revenue loss. 'This is the real cost of trickle-down economics: corporate handouts while working families get left behind. It's fiscally irresponsible and morally indefensible,' Campbell said. The advocacy group Tennessee For All, which supports elimination of the grocery tax, criticized the state's refunds, saying companies are exploiting the program. 'Instead of closing loopholes so families can get a break on groceries, the majority of legislators chose more corporate giveaways,' said Angela Wynn, a Rutherford County parent and member of Public School Strong, a partner in the Tennessee For All coalition. The group pointed toward reports by two Democratic lawmakers using state information from 2022 and 2025 that show more than 60% of corporations operating in Tennessee pay nothing in excise taxes on income. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Gateway Place residents file lawsuit after 2024 burst-pipe flood
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — A class action lawsuit filed Wednesday detailed the suffering Gateway Place residents claim they've endured over the past six months after a pipe burst inside their building in July 2024. 'They really are our most vulnerable population,' Attorney Eric Artrip with Mastando & Artrip said. 'And to be treated in this fashion we think is unfair.' 📲 to stay updated on the go. 📧 to have news sent to your inbox. Residents of Gateway Place Apartments were displaced after a pipe burst inside the apartment complex on July 31, 2024. They jumped from hotel to hotel for months waiting for the apartments to be repaired. Some residents said their belongings were destroyed by water damage. Artrip said the lawsuit seeks complete repairs to affected apartment units, financial compensation for the suffering and loss of residents and reimbursement of several months of rent they paid while displaced. 'One of the things we're seeking to address in the lawsuit is the idea that these tenants were asked to continue to pay rent, 'save their spot' in the apartment complex while their apartments were being renovated, even though they were placed in a very shabby hotel situation for many months,' Artrip said. 'We think that money should be returned to them and, their belongings should be paid for.' The lawsuit names the property owners, Huntsville Senior Housing L.P.; property management, Integral Group LLC.; and plumbing contractor, Lee Company. The suit claims the property owners and managers failed to provide a livable space that was not flooded and mishandled the flooding issues. Artrip said the failure violated the Alabama Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. 'The property owner has the obligation to present a tenancy, or a place to live, that's going to be habitable,' Artrip said. 'And that means I can live there without my belongings being destroyed or my bedroom being flooded. They failed to do that. And, when they did, they breached Alabama law.' The lawsuit further said that Lee Company breached its contract by poorly managing the plumbing. The lawsuit states: 'Defendant Lee Company materially breached its contractual obligations by negligently performing plumbing work at Gateway Apartments, specifically by failing to properly install, secure, and inspect plumbing components, including but not limited to the improper tightening of an aluminum worm gear hose clamp, which directly led to the catastrophic flooding event.' Only three residents have joined the lawsuit so far, but it is a class action case. Artrip expects more residents will sign up. 'They were all subject to the same harm, that being their apartment being flooded,' Artrip said. 'And none of them have been reimbursed for the additional living expenses or any of their belongings that were destroyed in the flood.' When asked for a statement, the Integral Group, LLC. said: 'We are aware of the lawsuit that has been filed, and do not comment on active litigation.' Richard White, Senior Vice President Lee Company did not respond to a request for a statement. The lawsuit was filed in the Madison County Circuit Court. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
