Remember Greek Mythology?  Didn't it seem like there was a god for just about everything?  There were so many!  Hades, god of the dead.  Poseidon god of the sea.  Athena, goddess of wisdom.  Zeus, the leader of the gods.  And of course, one of my favorites, Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty.  But which god was responsible for property taxes?

Greece is in turmoil over the recent property tax that was enacted as part of a program to get national debt under control.  The tax, which was put in place three months ago, is tied to electric bills.  If someone refuses to pay, their electricity is cut.  Well, at least in theory, the electric company is protesting the tax and several activist groups are reconnecting electricity to those who have been cut off.  Greece is in serious revolt over property taxes!

The prime minister has insisted that property taxes are necessary but it will be an uphill battle to get acceptance and compliance with the new tax.  Could it be time to create a god or goddess of property taxes.....?

Is outsourcing your lawn care the best way to go?  While the predictable answer from a lawn care provider might be “absolutely”, there are some things I would take into consideration.  What are the costs of outsourcing the service versus doing it myself – gas, repairs, grass disposal costs?  Where do I want to focus my time?  Am I any good at mowing?

These are similar to the questions you might ask when considering outsourcing your property tax compliance.  The real question might not be “Should we outsource?” but rather “What is the most effective way to manage property tax compliance and pursue savings opportunities?”  When considering whether to outsource or manage property taxes internally, consider the following factors:

·         Complexity - There are an estimated 12,000 taxing jurisdictions.  Is your corporate tax department equipped to manage the numerous tax laws and rulings, renditions, factor tables, exemptions, abatements, tax bills, deadlines and valuation methodologies?  Are the outsource providers you might be considering equipped to do the same?

·         Staffing – Most property tax returns are due between January and May.  Are you appropriately staffed to accomplish the filings?  Can your tax department staff be more effectively deployed to strategic, value-adding initiatives?

·         Expertise – Does significant property tax knowledge reside within your tax department?  Do you want to build property tax knowledge into it?

·         Costs – Have you considered all of the costs to manage the property tax function internally?  How about all of the costs to outsource?

Considering these factors within the context of the goals and focus of your company (and your tax department) will help you determine if outsourcing is right for you.  For more, check out the latest PropTax Minute, www.youtube.com/user/TaxtoGrindBlog?blend=7&ob=5#p/a/u/0/6et09kLM_JM

About this time of year, several years ago, I attended a conference in Las Vegas.  My flight home was early in the morning and American Airlines was gracious enough to upgrade me.  Lethargically I boarded the plane with plans to sleep as much as possible.  The passenger sitting next to me, presumably another business traveler based upon his business casual dress, greeted me and we began a normal airplane conversation.  “Hi”….”How are you?”… “Where are you from?”… “Why are you headed to Chicago?”  We, of course, asked and answered these questions without looking directly at one another, which is difficult or awkward at best when someone is sitting beside you.  He was originally from Las Vegas and was headed to Chicago to attend Cubs Fest.  I looked directly at him and said, “you must really be a Cubs fan”.  Something immediately felt wrong but the words had already left my mouth.  I was talking to Greg Maddux, one of the best pitchers to ever play baseball (he was playing for the Cubs at the time)!

How do you come back from that?  Well, I didn’t…. at least for awhile.  We talked about marriage, kids, golf, baseball, Brett Favre, travel, his new house on the ocean in Orange County, and where his dad taught him to play baseball without ever making the acknowledgement of who he was.  Frankly, we were past that and it was difficult trying to figure out how to go back to it.  Finally, toward the end of the trip he came up with the idea of leaving his boarding pass on the armrest while he went to the restroom and I came up with “hope you have a great season”.  It had taken me almost three hours to amend the original phrase that had left my lips.

Many of you are up to your eyeballs in property tax compliance right now and may not even be thinking of amended returns.  However, I am sure that a portion of the 40-50 million personal property returns filed all over the country this year will have mistakes or be missing some information.  This isn’t necessarily the fault of the property tax department.  For instance, additional facts are often discovered after the return has been filed or important information may come in after the return has been filed.  It’s also possible fair market value issues may have changed and need to be communicated.  The good news is that you can amend what you originally communicated to the assessor.  And maybe it doesn’t have to be so difficult!

No, I’m not being purposefully crude by asking the question.  Big Ass Fans is a provider of industrial, commercial and residential fans – a fact that was recently made clear to me.  A new client informed us that we would probably see some Big Ass Fans on their fixed asset lists.  Initially we thought it odd that they would be so proud of, not to mention, descriptive of their fans.  “No really…. they are made by the Big Ass Fan Company.”  Some of your companies probably purchase the same fans and they are really…. well, big.  Perhaps you have them and didn’t even know it, or maybe you were just a little too uncomfortable to put the full name on your fixed asset listing.

Whether you use the full name on your fixed assets or just use “fan” isn’t really the issue.  The real questions are, “Should that Big Ass Fan be included on your personal property return?”  “Do best practices in property tax compliance require reporting of such items as personal property?”  Behind (no pun intended) these questions is an underlying issue of whether the fans are personal property or real property in the first place.  Real property assets are usually not reported on the personal property return (with a few exceptions) so as not to double count them as both real and personal property.  If the intended use of your fan is to provide cooling to the facility and the people working in it, it feels like real property.  Speaking of feeling, the next time you’re touring a facility and feel a cool breeze, look up.  It just may be a Big Ass Fan.