Overpaid taxes may cost schools

COLUMBUS, Miss. - The Mississippi Supreme Court delivered a unanimous ruling in May that some businesses here at the Golden Triangle Regional Airport, including Airbus Helicopter Inc., Aurora Flight Sciences, and part of Stark Aerospace, have been mistakenly paying Lowndes County property taxes for years. The ruling will cost the county more than $800,000 in property taxes, according to an Aug. 16 report by the Columbus Dispatch. The ruling determined commercial properties on airport-owned land are exempt from paying county ad valorem or school taxes. County Superintendent Lynn Wright says the funding loss will be "devastating" for schools and may lead to a reduction in personnel or programs. The president of the county Board of Supervisors, Harry Sanders, says a tax increase is likely. (Source: Columbus Dispatch 08/16/18)