US (AZ): Monsanto drops tax proposal, greenhouse still a go

After several months of outcry, and a number of lengthy and sometimes tense public meetings, Monsanto has decided to drop a proposal with Pima County that would have substantially reduced the company’s property taxes.

The county Board of Supervisors was set to vote on the deal Tuesday, Feb. 21, but George Gough, the company’s government affairs director, sent a letter Wednesday stating “that after much thought, the Monsanto Co. has decided to withdraw our Foreign Trade Zone Payment In Lieu of Taxes Agreement proposal scheduled for consideration by the Pima County Board of Supervisors.”

Despite the decision, the company still intends to build and operate a greenhouse near Marana on a 155-acre property it purchased last October. It will not proceed with its FTZ application, though it could even without any action from the county. However, company spokeswoman Charla Lord left open the possibility of reconsidering it later, adding: “Anything’s possible.”

Additionally, a company official said it would move forward with other commitments to the area, including a contribution of $500,000 to the Marana Unified School District Foundation, creating a community advisory panel and voluntarily reporting the usage of restricted-use pesticides at the greenhouse, which is slated to grow corn for research in a 7-acre facility at the site.

Read more at tucson.com