MARQUETTE -- A mining severance tax with multimillion dollar implications was the focus of Tuesday night's meeting of the Marquette County Board of Commissioners.
Commissioners were updated on changes to the way mines in Upper Michigan are taxed. Representatives from Governor Rick Snyder's office informed the board they expect the Rio Tinto Eagle Mine to be worth $191 million.
Marquette County would receive 1.5 percent of the mine's value in tax revenue. Another 1.5 percent would go to a rural development fund administered by a downstate panel. The county board opposes that proposal. They say they would lose tax revenue.
The county board believes the mine should be valued at $3.5 billion, and the county should receive 1.8 percent of the mine's value in tax revenue.
They plan to continue to negotiate a tax proposal that will prevent the county from losing tax revenue.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forWLUC