Who paid the most in property taxes in Lee County in 2022?

Last year, more than three-fourths of the businesses on the top 10 list for highest property tax payments in the county came from businesses headquartered outside the state, county tax records show.

Eight of the 10 corporations that paid the most in property taxes in Lee County in 2022 are headquartered in Texas, Virginia, Arizona, Ohio, Maryland, Illinois and South Carolina. And most of them are developers.

Although the remaining two call Florida home, none list Lee County as an incorporation address.

Christian & Missionary Alliance, Inc., headquartered in Ohio, operates nonprofit Shell Point Retirement Community in south Fort Myers. It netted the top spot easily, paying nearly $1 million more in property taxes than the second-ranked corporation.

Christian & Missionary Alliance bills itself a mission-driven charitable organization that works with hospitals and churches around the world. It is a registered 501(c)3, the only nonprofit to make the list.

According to Lee County Property Appraiser's Office Chief Deputy Jim Sherron, while property taxes are universally applied, actual taxes paid are impacted by exemptions. Nonprofits may see their tax bills lowered post-exemptions; some owe $0 in taxes once exemptions have been applied.

A large number of the highest-paying corporate taxpayers are developers and apartment complex owners, such as Lnx 1 Properties, which owns The Lennox luxury apartments in Fort Myers.

Also on the list are apartment complex owners Ohio-based Legacy Gateway 60 LLC and Maryland-based Six Mile Apartments LLC. Legacy Gateway 60 LLC is tied to national developer Goldberg Companies while the latter is connected with industrial developer Knott Realty Group, according to state records.

Read on for the corporations that made the top-10 in tax payments in 2022 in Lee County:

1. CHRISTIAN AND MISSIONARY ALLIANCE: $2,761,470.14

2. LNX 1 PROPERTIES LLC: $1,952,917.37

3. FORT MYERS MULTIFAMILY II C/O INLAND PROPERTY TAX SERVICES LLC: $1,487,123.85

4. SIX MILE APARTMENTS LLC: $1,458,886.47

5. AWPRE ENCORE VIVE 2021 LLC: $1,392,691.58

6. JAMAICA BAY VENTURE III LLC C/O COVE COMMUNITIES: $1,381,699.49

7. LEGACY GATEWAY 60 LLC & LEGACY GATEWAY 40 LLC: $1,345,419.63

8. MURANO COBBLESTONE DE LLC & MURANO IVY CREEK DE LLC ET AL: $1,338,293.76

9. LPA ONE LLC & LPA TWO LLC ET AL: $1,263,889.94

10. VENETIAN MULTI FAMILY LLC: $1,238,510.29

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: These businesses paid the most in property taxes in Lee County in 2022