Neb. court denies $1.6M tax break to ethanol plant

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court has decided that Bridgeport Ethanol isn't entitled to the $1.6 million tax break it sought.

The court said in a ruling released Friday that the western Nebraska ethanol company didn't qualify for a sales tax exemption on most of the equipment and materials bought for its plant.

The court said Bridgeport Ethanol couldn't claim the tax break because the contractor who built the plant actually bought the equipment. And state law doesn't allow Bridgeport Ethanol to appoint the contractor as its purchasing agent.

So the company is only entitled to a $6,324.84 tax break instead of the $1.6 million sales tax exemption it wanted.

Bridgeport Ethanol's attorney, William Peters, did not immediately respond to a message Friday morning.