High court rules in favor of Graham in Eurofresh case

By Diane Saunders
Staff Writer

The Arizona Supreme Court ruled in favor of Graham County in a property tax appeal filed by Eurofresh — a Bonita-based tomato grower.

The Supreme Court made its ruling on June 11.

“It was a very important case for Graham County because Eurofresh is our largest taxpayer,” said Jacque Attaway, Graham County assessor.

Eurofresh sought to have its 2005 property values reduced from $51.9 million to about $33 million because of “external obsolescence” of its 168 acres of greenhouses. This means negative influences outside the property, such as economic factors or location, have reduced the property’s value.

“Eurofresh was unable to prove that any external obsolescence affected this company,” Attaway said. She added that Eurofresh was required to explain in detail why it sought tax relief based on obsolescence.

Graham County filed a complaint in Arizona Tax Court, which found that Eurofresh owed the county taxes based on the assessment.

Eurofresh appealed the Tax Court’s findings to the Arizona Appellate Court, which reversed the lower court’s decision by deciding in favor of Eurofresh.

Graham County then appealed to the Arizona Supreme Court, which reversed the Appellate Court’s decision. This action upheld the county’s original tax assessment.

Attaway said property owners must be current on their property tax payments before they can take the county to court on a tax issue. If the county had lost, it would have been required to reimburse tax dollars to entities that have the authority to tax Eurofresh. The three largest entities that receive tax money from Eurofresh are Bonita School District, the Eastern Arizona College and Graham County.

A Eurofresh secretary said the company’s Chief Financial Officer Brian McLaughlin was out of town and unavailable for comment.