Ever feel like there is someone or something that is messing around with you and your property tax department? Think it may be ghosts or you might be going crazy?  Well, you’re probably not going crazy (although I am not qualified to certify your sanity) and your property tax department probably isn’t haunted, you might just have a case of the PropTax™ monkeys ‘monkeying’ around with you.

Through the help of my son, Tyler, and his surveillance we were able to catch the PropTax Monkeys in the act of ‘monkeying’ around.

(Can’t see the video? Click here)

They’re cute and cuddly but can drive you crazy.  We’ll be keeping our eyes open for the PropTax Monkeys.

Unless you happen to moonlight as a nuclear physicist, you probably were not aware that Cobalt can be a form of nuclear waste. Make that taxable nuclear waste. We had the opportunity to work with a company who use radioactive Cobalt to sterilize their products. Because they pay millions of dollars to purchase this Cobalt, the assessor assumed it had a large value and thus was taxing them significantly. Our first task was to determine if this in-house stockpile of “nuclear waste” had any real value, and then consider if the assessor’s methodology and ensuing $22 million valuation were appropriate.

Unswerving in our commitment to grasp the underlying process, we boldly entered the company’s Cobalt Chamber, a virtual crypt with 6-feet concrete walls surrounding a deep pool housing the mysterious, glowing Cobalt. We discovered that Cobalt, being radioactive, is handled only by licensed suppliers and distributed under the strictest of standards. To our relief, none of us came out of the chamber glowing. To better understand the characteristics of Cobalt, we went to a reliable source: A friendly, neighborhood Ph.D. in nuclear physics. (Who says those science classes wouldn’t be useful in a property tax career?)

To find the market value of used Cobalt, we first had to consider whether a market existed at all. Surprisingly (or not), we discovered there was no viable market for used Cobalt.  Cobalt can only be sold to licensed suppliers. Even if the company could find a licensed supplier willing to purchase the Cobalt (which is highly unlikely), the Cobalt would then have to be removed by the company’s supplier and transported to the supplier’s facilities (which in this case is in Canada) for testing, before being transferred to the purchaser. There is no way to know how the Cobalt was previously handled, which increases the potential for leaks or other problems. And problem resolution is expensive.

It was clear that no company in its right mind would purchase used Cobalt. Therefore, no active market existed. The assessor’s office, while willing to concede that cost doesn’t equal value, was not keen on the concept that the millions of dollars spent on Cobalt equaled a zero value.  The value of the Cobalt was, in effect, being considered on an “in-use” basis. After several rounds of negotiations on the appropriate factors, the assessor’s value was reduced from $22 million to $12 million (a 40% reduction). The company gladly accepted the significant value reduction and subsequent tax savings of over $200,000.

There is really no market value for Cobalt. It is, in fact, nuclear waste. If the company were to shut down its plant today, it would incur significant costs just to have the Cobalt removed. Still, the company continues to buy this non-value nuclear waste for millions of dollars each year, which begs the question… How much would you pay for nuclear waste?

Remember the legendary Roman Empire? That’s the one whose mythical foundation started with abandoned twins, nursed by a wolf and raised by a shepherd. Where technological advances such as aqueducts were erected and where the brutal Gladiator was born. It was also in Rome that the world first witnessed a republic established on principles of self government. The city thrived on its’ republic ideals and expanded into an empire to become the undisputed ruler of Italy, and ultimately the world.

The creation of a sophisticated and ground breaking property tax system was one of the milestones of the Roman Empire. Property taxes were paid based on land value, livestock, structures, even plants and trees and all other personal property. The United States has taken some cues from this legendary government, well, minus the wolf-nursed abandoned twins… Many of the property tax policies in Rome have found their way into our current property tax systems.

How many of you will be attending graduation parties this month?  Over the next two weekends my family has a multitude of graduation parties to attend, not to mention all the parties we missed last weekend because we were out of town.  Of course, this volume of parties (and the volume of our budget for gifts) is greatly influenced by the fact that our own son is graduating from high school this Sunday.  As a parent, I feel a mix of emotions watching my son graduate.  I’m amazed and a little sad) at how fast time has flown, and at the same time extremely excited for the future.

What makes graduation so special?  So special, in fact, that we will exhaust ourselves this weekend to get to as many as possible?  Graduations give us the opportunity to acknowledge past achievements, but even more, they provide an opportunity to anticipate things to come.  We celebrate the fact that a young person has stepped over the threshold and begun a new phase in the adventure of life!

Perhaps it’s time to acknowledge where you have been as a property tax department, and chart a course for the next phase in that life!  At the beginning of May, we began piloting the PropTax Assessment - a tool to help companies benchmark against best practices in the industry.  Almost 40 companies have taken the assessment in the first few weeks.  Here’s some of the feedback we have received:  “It’s comprehensive”, “The questions are straightforward”, “I’m very interested to see how we measure up”.

We will be piloting this assessment over the next couple of months.  After July 31^st we’ll begin providing individual reports to participating companies so they can see how they measure up.  In June, we’ll be presenting preliminary findings at the IPT Conference.  If you would like to participate in this assessment, send our team an email.

It’s our goal at Advantax to demystify property taxes and the PropTax Assessment is a tool we offer to reach this goal.  The PropTax Assessment may just facilitate your graduation to the next level in your property tax process.