SAN ANTONIO -- As reported yesterday, Valero Energy Corp. has filed 150 lawsuits against 42 appraisal districts across Texas, saying that tax appraisal officials have overvalued its properties, including its gas stations, convenience stores and refineries. Valero also is suing appraisal districts in California and other states.
While he said he cannot comment on specific cases in litigation, Valero spokesperson Bill Day, reacting to charges that the oil company does not want to pay its fair share of taxes, told CSP Daily News, Valero is simply following [image-nocss] the recourse provided by law for property owners to protest unfair tax valuations. It is important to note that we are not alone in our belief that we have experienced overly inflated valuations. Independent juries have awarded Valero with lower property valuations in five of the last five retail property value trials, resulting in substantial value reductions. That shows you that these appraisals were unreasonable.
He said, Valero's property tax department has always closely monitored the valuation of our properties. And, taxing authorities have gotten very aggressive in recent yearsraising our valuations significantly.
Day added, We can assure you that we are committed to paying our fair share of taxes. In many instances, we are an area's largest single taxpayer. Last year, we paid approximately $5 billion in total taxessignificantly more than our net income of $3.6 billion. And, of course, we provided 22,000 jobs, volunteered over 220,000 hours in the communities and had over $45 million in charitable contributions. So, Valero is doing its part to support the communities in which we live and work; however, paying property taxes on grossly inflated values isn't fair and isn't good business.
The oil company's appeals cover several years of property assessments, involving millions of dollars in already-paid taxes.
Valero, which reported a profit of $3.6 billion on $82 billion in revenue last year, paid more than $138 million in property taxes nationwide in 2005, up from $113 million in 2004, More than half its total property taxes are paid in Texas.
Meanwhile, San Antonio-based Valero has reported second-quarter net income of $1.9 billion, or $2.98 per share, which compares to $847 million, or $1.53 per share, in second-quarter 2005. The company's second-quarter 2006 results represent the highest quarterly net income in the company's history. For the six months ended June 30, 2006, Valero's net income was $2.7 billion, or $4.29 per share, compared to the company's net income of $1.4 billion, or $2.49 per share, for the six months ended June 30, 2005.
Second-quarter 2006 operating income for the company's refining segment was $3 billion, more than twice the $1.4 billion achieved in the same period last year. The increase in operating income was primarily due to significantly higher gasoline and distillate margins, wider sour crude oil discounts and higher throughput volumes due to the acquisition of Premcor Inc. in September 2005. Partially offsetting these factors was the roughly $275 million, or 29 cents per share, impact to operating income from unplanned outages during the quarter.
Our business environment remains outstanding, as this was the best quarter in the company's history, said Bill Klesse, Valero's CEO.
Valero owns and operates 18 refineries throughout the United States, Canada and the Caribbean with a combined throughput capacity of approximately 3.3 million barrels per day, making it the largest refiner in North America. It is also one of the nation's largest retail operators, with more than 5,000 retail and branded wholesale outlets in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean under brands including Valero, Diamond Shamrock, Shamrock, Ultramar and Beacon.Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.