It’s become a familiar ritual in many parts of the country. When Wal-Mart is wooing a town, they promise a tax revenue bonanza. But as soon as they get in, they try to nickel and dime their taxes down, threatening to go to court, if necessary, to challenge their taxes or their property tax assessment. The retailer will do whatever they need to do to lower their taxes, once their project has been approved. It’s happened again this week in Coolbaugh, Pennsylvania. Wal-Mart has challenged the assessment on its 208 acre site and a large distribution center. The County Commissioners in Monroe County, along with Coolbaugh officials, and the Pocono Mountain School District, have raised $6,000 to hire an appraiser to review the site’s value, according to the Times Leader newspaper. Last fall, Wal-Mart went to the County’s Board of Assessment to try to get the Board to adopt a lower assessment for their distribution center. Wal-Mart tried to do the same thing in Saukville, Wisconsinm and disputed its taxes in several communities in Florida. When not trying to lower its valuation, Wal-Mart has its hand out for road or infrastructure grants, for tax increment financing, and other forms of corporate welfare.
Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in the world, with $287.9 billion in sales last year, and more than $10 billion in profits, wants little Coolbaugh, Pennsylvania to cut the company’s property assessment by $1 million, leaving the other taxpayers in the township to pick up their weight. Just to fight them, the county, the town and the school district have to dig into their pockets to come up with $6,000 for a new appraisal. Add to that the potential court costs. For other examples of Wal-Mart’s deadbeat tactics, search Newsflash by “corporate welfare” or “taxes.”