The prospective owners of the idle Port Hawkesbury paper mill say they have made three offers for a new tax deal with Richmond County and none have been accepted.

The impasse has reached the courts.

On Tuesday, a Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge will rule on whether the company has the right to break the existing tax agreement reached in 2006.

"We have made three offers to the county over the past several months and have provided them with an independent appraisal of the value of the mill to assist them in understanding our offers," Pacific West restructuring manager Marc Dube tells CBC News in an emailed statement on the dispute.

"We have also engaged the Municipal Action Committee in Port Hawkesbury to help find a solution. These efforts have not been successful."

Lawyers representing Richmond County appeared in court Monday morning to argue over the NewPage mill's request to cancel a municipal tax agreement that provides millions of dollars a year to the county.

The mill wants to lower its municipal taxes as it emerges from creditor protection.

Pacific West, the company working to buy the former NewPage mill, wants the Nova Scotia Supreme Court to cancel the idled mill's tax agreement.

The paper mill in Port Hawkesbury is bound by a 10-year municipal tax regime enacted in 2006.

Lawyers representing the county are trying to block the mill from "disclaiming" the arrangement.

"There is nothing NewPage can do without an amendment to the legislation," lawyer Bruce Clarke told Justice John Murphy.

"I understand they would like to pay less tax if they could. They are going to pay real property tax, it's about how much."

Lucas Wide, communications advisor with Communications Nova Scotia, says in an emailed statement that the province has encouraged the county and Pacific West to come to an agreement.

"We understand that a number of offers have been made between both parties. Richmond County has decided to take this matter before the courts, which is their right to do,' stated Wide.

He said the government does not intend to replace or amend the tax regime put in place in 2006.

"At this time, the province has no plans to introduce new or amended legislation," Wide stated.

Last week Port Hawkesbury Mayor Billy Joe MacLean, who is spearheading the effort to save the town's idled paper mill, said he can't support the request to cancel a municipal tax agreement.

With files from Paul Withers