The Munster Times today provides some background about the Court of Appeals decision Tuesday in BP Products North America, Inc. v. Board of Commissioners of Lake County (7/20/04 IndCtApp). Access the ILB entry here (5th in the list).
The headline: "Appeals court orders BP audit: County wins latest round in fight to open company's financial books." A quote:
The Indiana Court of Appeals has upheld Lake County's right to audit the tax returns of BP's Whiting Refinery, paving the way for an inspection the corporation has resisted for years. The county wants to audit BP's self-reported tax returns, from 1998 to 2002, to ensure the oil giant did not undervalue its machinery and equipment. Officials and attorneys here believe millions of tax dollars could be at stake. * * *Posted by Marcia Oddi at July 22, 2004 08:06 AMBP spokesman Tom Keilman said the company believed the appellate court decision was wrong and officials were determining whether to appeal the ruling to the Indiana Supreme Court.
The Whiting refinery opposed the audit only because officials believed the county missed its statutory deadline to request such an inspection, he said. "This is not a situation where we had anything to hide," Keilman said.