Top local taxpayers saw taxes rise and fall in the 2021-22

Dick Mason, The Observer, La Grande, Ore.
·2 min read

Nov. 2—LA GRANDE — The 2021 — 22 tax bills for four of Union County's top-five taxpayers fluctuated significantly from the year before.

Data released by Union County's assessor's office shows the tax bill for the county's top taxpayer, Union Pacific Railroad, rose 5.2% and the bill for Avista Corporation, which is third on the list, jumped 10.31%. Union Pacific Railroad paid $706,768 in taxes in 2022 and Avista paid $350,204 in taxes for the 2021-22 tax year. Boise Building Solutions Manufacturing, which operates a mill in Elgin, had the county's second highest tax bill at $406,371, a total up only $2,390 from the year prior.

Union Pacific Railroad was also Union County's top taxpayer in 2020-21. It was second to Avista in 2019-20 and in 2018-19, according to Union County Assessor and Tax Collector Cody Vavra.

Data for the 2021-22 tax years indicates that Telocaset Wind Power Partners and Walmart Real Estate Business Trust, the county's fourth and fifth highest taxpayers, had double digit decreases. The tax bill for Telocaset Wind Power Partners was $279,095, down 21.4% from the year prior. Walmart Real Estate Business Trust was charged $251,324 in taxes, 11.2% less than a year ago.

Ziply Fiber is sixth on the tax list at $188,039.

Northwest Pipeline Corp. ranks seventh with a tax bill of $179,802, up 3.7% from 2020-21; Idaho Power is eighth at $148,388, a jump of 27% from 2020-21, and Charter Communications is ninth at $13,488, a drop of $206 from the year before.

Union County taxes for utilities and all corporations that made over $1 million a year are assessed by the Oregon Department of Revenue. The state, when calculating tax bills for corporations, sometimes takes into consideration factors in addition to property value, Vavra said.

Dick Mason is a reporter with The Observer. Contact him at 541-624-6016 or dmason@lagrandeobserver.com.