Cleveland-Cliffs gets settlement for lower tax assessments on its operations
Cleveland-Cliffs reached a settlement with Indiana officials, resulting in lower tax assessments for its steel mill facilities in Porter and Lake counties.Summary
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has secured a settlement with the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance to reduce proposed tax assessment increases on its steel mill facilities in Porter and Lake counties. Originally facing a 13.5% increase in Porter County and a 6.1% increase in Lake County, the settlement limits these increases to 2.5% and 1.7% respectively. This means Porter and Lake County governments will receive a smaller increase in property tax collections than initially anticipated. County assessors Sue Neff and Latonya Spearman expressed disappointment at not being involved in the settlement discussions. While the Indiana Board of Tax Review must ratify the agreement, it is expected to be a formality. The reduced assessments will result in Lake County receiving $60,000 more in taxes instead of $210,000, and Porter County receiving around $70,000 instead of $348,000. Spearman indicated a desire for state legislation to grant county tax assessors more authority in similar situations in the future.
(Source：Chicago Tribune)