While Chevron and the city try to strike a deal, documents obtained by The Times show that in the mid-1990s, El Segundo ignored a preliminary audit showing Chevron owed as much as $9.5 million in back utility taxes and then ordered auditors to stop work.
City officials later reached an agreement with the oil producer that resulted in El Segundo receiving no money at all. At the same time, the city capped Chevron's future natural gas taxes at $150,000 a year plus inflation — a fraction of what auditors said the city should be receiving.
The abrupt cancellation of the audit led a lawyer for the auditors to write a letter to El Segundo, saying the firm "has never encountered resistance from its client cities regarding the collection of such substantial and much needed tax revenues."
It is likely corruption,k this is California after all.
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