News
Legal mix-up could be expensive
By Jody O'Hara, Staff Writer
Jul 23, 2010, 09:08

When Hood Industries executives appeared before the Stone County Board of Supervisors a few weeks ago, they just wanted a legal error corrected.

Now, it looks as though the company may be facing a new tax liability.

The company’s corporate counsel, John Burnam, had told the supervisors how “Yankee lawyers,” had done him wrong by asking for title to property his company had bought from International Paper before deeding it to Stone County.

Hood Industries has operated on the site since that time and has enjoyed an ad valorem tax exemption.

Hood Industries President Don Grimm, Vice-President of the Lumber Division John Hammack and Vice-President of the Plywood Division Fran Eck attended the meeting with Burnam.

International Paper attorneys agreed that the deed had changed hands in error and quit claims were subsequently filed to rectify the situation.

“With that in place, it appears maybe Hood should have been paying taxes since about ’94 on their lease-hold interest,” said Board Attorney Tom Matthews.

Matthews came to that conclusion after researching a Mississippi Supreme Court case between Itawamba County and Reed Manufacturing in which the court found that the state constitution limits tax exemptions to 10 years. That is contrary to three separate statutes allowing longer tax exemptions.

Stone County Tax Assessor/Collector Charles Williams pointed out that back taxes could not be sought, however, the property will go on the ad valorem tax rolls for future assessments and could be taxed as early as the current fiscal year.

“I’ll say this, the previous tax assessor, and assessor staff and boards, because of that statute were acting in good faith and they were doing what was right,” Williams said.

Williams also said the tax would be figured as if Hood Industries were the owners of the property.

That could result in a $72,000 tax bill for the company.

“I imagine when they learn of this, you’ll see that same group of folks back in here and that lawyer pacing back and forth,” said Board President Dale Bond.

Williams told the board it had taxing authority and he would act according to its wishes.

“What I think this board’s going to do is we’re going to pursue what the law says from this point forward,” Bond said. “Right’s right.”

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