Rankin County takes on Walmart and Wins

A series of lawsuits filed by Walmart and Sam’s Club against the Rankin County Tax Assessor and Board of Supervisors have been dismissed in favor of Rankin County. Wal mart and Sam’s Club sought to have the assessed value of its retail stores located in Rankin County reduced by 50%, arguing that the Rankin County Tax Assessor’s determination of value was excessive. If successful, these lawsuits would have cut in half the property taxes owed on the affected properties. The Rankin County Tax Assessor and the Board of Supervisors vigorously defended the County’s determination of value. Had the companies’ arguments been successful, the County anticipated similar arguments being raised by other big box retailers operating in Rankin County. Supervisor Daniel Cross stated, “These national and international big box retailers use their influence and their vast resources to put pressure on local governments to arbitrarily lower their taxes and treat their properties differently than other businesses. The Rankin County Board of Supervisors believes that all citizens and businesses should be treated fairly and equally under the law. It was an easy decision for our Board to fight to maintain fairness in our assessment methods. And we are excited that these lawsuits have been dismissed in favor of Rankin County.” Tax Assessor, John Sullivan, said, “I am gratified that the methods we use to assess businesses in Rankin County have been upheld. My office follows the law in conducting fair and equitable value determinations no matter how big or how small a business operation may be. By resisting pressure brought by big box retailers, Rankin County citizens are protected against an unfair shifting of tax burdens onto our local businesses. Let this be a signal to any other big box retailers who want to pressure us to shift tax burdens onto local businesses that Rankin County will not fold to pressure.” The Walmart and Sam’s Club lawsuits were dismissed with prejudice following the decision by the companies to pay all current tax obligations owed to Rankin County without any reduction .