NC paper plant wants millions in taxes back

Nearly a year after shutting down and laying off more than 1,000 workers, the owner of Canton’s former paper-making plant wants millions in local taxes returned.

Pactiv Evergreen, the Illinois-based owner of the paper mill site paid $2.8 million in 2023 property taxes to Haywood County and the town of Canton, N.C. But the company is now saying the property they own was overvalued by the county assessor’s office and they should get back $2.5 million.

The Citizen Times reached out March 7 to Pactiv spokesperson Beth Kelly.

In seeking to reduce its taxes, the company first appealed to the county’s Board of Equalization and Review but was denied. Pactiv is now appealing to the North Carolina Property Tax Commission. A commission spokesperson referred questions about pending dates to Haywood County officials.

County Tax Assessor Judy Hickman said there was no date yet scheduled. She said the tax values of $238 million for equipment and other property inside the mill plus the $19.8 million in real estate were determined Jan. 1, 2023. That was before the mill shut down May 24 of that year, ending a century of paper making operations in Canton.

The closure and layoffs caused economic and social shocks throughout the area.

“They are the biggest taxpayer in the county,” Hickman said.

The attempt to reduce its local tax payments comes at the same time as a conflict between Pactiv and top state officials over $12 million in taxpayer incentives. The company received the help to update equipment. In exchange the plant was to maintain at least 800 employees. At the time of the incentives, employees were making an average annual salary of $78,300.

Gov. Roy Cooper and Attorney General Josh Stein, a Democrat running in the Nov. 5 gubernatorial race against Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, have said they are seeking to claw the money back and are in negotiations