Sun, May 09, 2010
MidAmerican Energy Holdings Says State Should Not Have Denied
$1.1 Million Refund
MidAmerican Energy Holdings company says the State of Nebraska
should not have denied a $1.1 million dollar tax refund for the
purchase of an airplane in 2004, and has filed suit to force the
state to cough up the cash.
But the state says the airplane does not qualify for a tax break
because it was used for political fundraising purposes. MidAmerican
transported U.S. Senator Ben Nelson (pictured) on a trip from
Georgia to Nebraska in 2006 for a political fundraiser. While
Nelson's campaign later paid $457 dollars for the trip, the state
says it was enough to withhold the tax refund.
Bloomberg News reports that Tax Commissioner Doug Ewald said the
company filed paperwork in 2008 to claim a $1.1 million refund, and
disclosed Nelson's trip. MidAmerican and Nebraska have differing
opinions about the law which provides tax breaks "except when any
such property is to be used for fundraising or for the
transportation of a public official." The state says that means all
future use of the airplane from the time of purchase. MidAmerican
interprets the law to mean its intended use at the time of
purchase, and says when it bought the airplane, they had no way to
know they would at some point use it for a political purpose, so
the exemption should stand.
For his part, Nelson got a deal. The actual cost of his trip
from Albany, GA to Omaha was nearly $1,500, and he paid about a
third of that. But his reimbursement to MidAmerican was in
compliance with FEC guidelines. His office had no comment about the
state's denial of the tax refund.
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