We audit existing personal property locations for over-assessments and refunds. Works to analyze existing locations and determine over-assessments in order to maximize tax savings.
A North Carolina chemical company had been in business since the early 1900s. Through the years the company
invested funds to support the production of many different materials and processes. Over time some of the
processes had been eliminated as business conditions and economics changed. By 1995, the cost of the
equipment on the ledgers had grown to over $110 million and the annual personal property tax exceeded
$1 million.
The National Bureau conducted extensive on-site inspections and interviews with knowledgeable company
personnel. This resulted in proposals to the county assessor to:
The tax payment was reduced by over $230,000. No appeal was necessary to gain this result.
A Midwest heavy industrial manufacturer completed a large capital expansion project exceeding $55 million. The National Bureau performed a special consulting project to identify and segregate costs that could properly be excluded from the personal property assessment. We identified four major categories of costs
to concentrate our efforts:
1. Pollution Control. In the area of pollution control, we determined that a major gas control system should be eligible for pollution control exemption. As a result, we identified an additional $7 million dollars of cost to be included on the pollution control exemption application.
2. Real Property Items. We analyzed construction costs to determine which costs were related to the real property at the site. After consultation with plant engineers and discussions with the local assessor, $5.5 million dollars was excluded from the personal property assessment.
3. Soft or Intangible Costs. Intangible or no-value soft costs were excluded from the personal property assessment. Financing, start up, and items related to an unexpected event were identified and segregated. The total cost was over $3.6 million.
4. Excess Installation Costs. We identified and segregated excess installation costs, which resulted in excluding $1.7 million from the personal property assessment
Estimated first-year tax savings from this analysis exceed $450,000. Our fixed fee based on our time, effort, and expenses was a fraction of what would have been paid on a contingency fee basis.