A company responsible for launching rockets from Vandenberg Air Force Base is appealing what it’s calling a series of property tax assessments issued by the county.
United Launch Alliance (ULA), a Colorado-based company that develops the Delta II, Delta IV, and Atlas V rockets, is disputing a $30 million tax bill stemming from a series of escape assessments—when the assessor discovers properties that weren’t previously assessed—ranging from 2007 to 2014 that value the company’s properties at more than $3.25 billion, according to Keith Taylor, the chief deputy assessor for Santa Barbara County.
“We discovered the properties through a business property audit for ULA from 2008,” Taylor told the Sun.
Taylor couldn’t give specific information on what types of property were discovered, citing confidentiality that relates to possible trade secrets. ULA currently occupies three launch sites at Vandenberg, which are the properties that were assessed, Taylor said.
He added that there’s usually a four-year statute of limitations on escaped assessments that can be extended to eight years depending on circumstances.
ULA’s opinion of its property value varies drastically from the county’s. According to appeals documents, ULA said its property is only worth around $619 million. Taylor said that the company’s accusing the county of duplicating past assessments, which is why ULA’s appealing the new tax bill.
“Our taxes were increased 300 percent based on old, erroneous information and the county’s misinterpretation of applicable tax laws that ULA has been appealing,” wrote ULA spokesperson Jessica Rye in an email to the Sun. “We have complied with the Notice of Proposed Escape Assessments and are fully honoring our payment obligations.”
In the meantime, Rye told the Sun that ULA is working with the county to resolve the issue. The appeals process is ongoing. The next appeal hearing is July 17, which is only for the 2008 assessment, Taylor said.
Rye said that ULA is one of the county’s largest taxpayers. Taylor said that this is possibly the largest property tax dispute the county has ever seen.
This article appears in Jun 11-18, 2015.
