Garfield County will get a larger share of property taxes from the Garkane Power Association than any other county in the cooperative's system.
Garkane will pay more than $246,000 in property taxes in Utah and Arizona this year, with Garfield County collecting $63,804, according to Glen Willardson, general manager. This year's taxes represents a 9 percent increase over last year, he said.Kane County will receive $46,826; Wayne, $35,127; Sevier, $14,945; Piute, $8,117 and Washington, $1,288. Coconino and Mojave counties in Arizona will get $71,305.
Although Garkane is a rural non-profit cooperative, it is taxed the same as profit corporations for real estate, personal property, sales, motor vehicles and gasoline. It also pays excise taxes. "Most cooperatives, however, do not pay federal income or profits taxes," Willardson said.
Rural electric cooperatives don't make profits for outside shareholders, as is the case with corporations such as PacifiCorp or its subsidiary, Utah Power. When Garkane has profits from its operations, they are returned to electrical users in the form of consumer credits.