Coastal States Petroleum Co. v. Corpus Christi Independent School District

OPINION

BENAVIDES, Justice.

This suit involves the valuation of crude oil inventory for ad valorem tax purposes. Although appellant brings fourteen points of error, one issue controls the outcome of this case: what constitutes “market value” of a refinery’s crude oil for the tax years 1980 and 1981.

No dispute exists over the quantity or type of products owned by Coastal States Petroleum Company within the limits of the taxing jurisdictions on the dates involved. It is also undisputed that property must be taxed according to its value. TEX. CONST, art. VIII, § 1.

The principal problem as…