Charter seeks business tax exemption

Cable TV providers have filed a lawsuit in Maryville asking Blount County Chancery Court to void business taxes levied on them by counties and cities across Tennessee, including Shelbyville.

The Daily Times of Maryville reported the lawsuit was filed Monday on behalf of Charter Communications and seven other communications groups.

The lawsuit contends the companies deliver services across state lines and taxes charged by Tennessee local governments are "unjust, illegal and incorrect" because they subject the cable providers to multiple taxation.

The suit asks that $158,732 paid during the July 2008-June 2009 tax year be refunded by a total of 50 government entities.

An e-mail response from Charter spokeswoman Anita Lamont said the company had filed a "protective lawsuit" that questions applying the Tennessee Business Tax to it.

The defendants had not filed a response by Wednesday.

Shelbyville's city attorney, Ginger Bobo Shofner, said Thursday morning she hadn't received notice of this latest lawsuit. But she said there is an earlier lawsuit by Charter against a variety of local governments, and the earlier lawsuit included Bedford County as well as Shelbyville. Shofner said the cities in the lawsuit are being represented by the Knoxville law firm of Watson, Roach, Batson, Rowell & Lauderback.

The list of governments named in this latest lawsuit appearing in a story on the WBIR-TV web site does not include Bedford County or any other cities in Bedford County. It does include Coffee County, Fayetteville, Lewisburg, Manchester and Tullahoma as well as Shelbyville.

One local official said that Charter had been paying its business taxes under protest for several years. Tennessee law requires that in tax disputes, the tax be paid up front and then refunded if the plaintiff wins the case.