The Richmond Progressive Alliance (RPA) has called for a rally at the Contra Costa County Administrative offices to protest the appeal of Chevron’s tax assessment.

Protest Chevron’s Tax Grab

651 Pine Street, Martinez

Thursday December 15, 2011

11:30 AM – Gather and Leaflet Area

12 Noon Rally

RPA says:

“The Chevron Corporation is currently appealing its property tax assessment and trying to get the county to pay them a refund of $150 million dollars at hearings in Martinez. If ordered to pay these refunds, County, City, and school districts would have to slash vital health, education and public services and lay off employees.”

“Chevron, which has long had reduced property taxes thanks to loop holes in Proposition 13, is able to hire an army of expensive lawyers to try to bully the county into accepting a settlement. Community groups, unions, and everyone who cares about justice say it is time to stop the 1% from bleeding the rest of us. We are the 99%, Chevron is the 1%!”

The Richmond City Council Resolution asking Chevron to drop its property tax appeals notes the following:

• Chevron Corporation. (formerly Standard Oil) has successfully operated an oil refinery in Richmond since 1904, thus contributing to the corporation’s high profitability for over 100 years

• Chevron declares that it wants to be a good neighbor to Richmond and Contra Costa County residents

• Chevron has posted record profits in each of the last five years, and its profits of $7,830,000,000 ($7.83 billion) for the third quarter of 2011 are double its profits for the third quarter of 2010

•  Chevron’s charitable contributions to worthy local organizations in 2010 amounted to $3.7 million, which represents a mere 0.047% of the profit it made in just three months

• These cuts would inevitably result in the layoffs of city, county, school district, fire and water, etc. workers at a time when we are already experiencing record unemployment and the worst recession since the 1930’s Depression

• These layoffs would result in less income available to purchase goods and services contributing to a downward economic spiral damaging our business community

• Chevron has stated it wants to maintain good a good relationship with Richmond and that it specifically wants to help ameliorate the very problems that the cuts triggered by its potential refunds would exacerbate

• If Chevron were to withdraw all of its property tax appeals it would remain a highly successful and profitable corporation and would experience no negative consequences

• The Richmond City Council respectfully asks Chevron Corporation. to withdraw and dismiss all of its property tax appeals on past years’ assessments and pay the full amount due on current and future property tax assessments for the Richmond refinery.

Read the full resolution by the Richmond City Council

Get the flyer for the protest and rally