Locality Taxes: Implan Calculated Tax Impact far Lower than Hand Calculation?
Greetings,
I am currently working on a project that measures different levels of hypothetical incentivization and the impact it would have on tax revenues. Essentially what I require from Implan is an output of state and local taxes to serve as a baseline of tax revenue before incentives.
Example: Food Manufacturer
The activities are split into two. The Construction activity reflects industry sales for building, machinery and equipment and the tax impact will be considered for year one. The Operations activity reflects employment in the given sector with a provided payroll amount and are counted for years 1-5 (combined with construction tax output in year 1 in excel).
The crux of the issue is that our locality has a Machinery and Tools Tax. Given the large investment in Machinery listed below, the back of the envelope calculation for just the Machinery and Tools Tax is higher than the total of all combined state and local tax output by Implan for operations. Which makes sense because it is not being purchased every year of operations, just in year one of construction. So, my essential question is: How do I add locality specific taxes without double counting when Implan doesn't seem to calculate them but calculates some other value?
This applies to numerous locality taxes including real estate and personal property tax. In this project I am given specific values for each which I have in the Construction activity but do not include in the Operations activity (as they are not being purchased yearly, but the taxes should be payed yearly).
So, to show hard figures for the discrepancy in Implan vs. personal calculations on these items:
Machinery Tax:
Implan calculated property tax (which I believe a Machinery Tax and Real Estate Tax would fall under) = $142,943
Personally calculated Machinery Tax = $273,700
Personally calculated Real Estate Tax = $36,000
To add to my previous main question: Is it possible to tell Implan to calculate these property taxes for Operations even though the purchase isn't included as an event in Operations? In other words, for operations say, they have this many employees and this much property to pay taxes on as well?
The inputs for my activities and operations are below.
(All non-listed columns populated by Implan)
Activity 1 - Construction
- Event 1: Sector 53 Construction of new manufacturing structures
Industry Sales = $3,000,000 - Event 2: Sector 267 Food product machinery manufacturing
Industry Sales = $17,000,000
Activity 2 - Operations
- Event 1: Sector 105 All other food manufacturing
Employment = 50
Employee Compensation = $2,100,000
I am a relatively new user and typically delving into the different line items in taxes hasn't been my task. I appreciate and input or understanding questions to try to help me tease out this answer.
Thanks,
- Jeff
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Hi Jeff,
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Thanks
IMPLAN Staff
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Hi Jeff,
The industry Output to TOPI ratio used to determine Direct TOPI taxes is based on the by industry study area data for total industry output and TOPI.
Note that our source data on total TOPI taxes by state and by industry are collected at a more aggregate level (approximately 90 sectors) than the sectoring scheme of IMPLAN. We distribute TOPI by state and industry to detailed industries using national data and other proxy data. As TOPI includes all taxes and fees and is net of subsidies, the ratio will not be reflective of any given marginal tax rate (the ratio is an effective tax rate).
Additionally, Total TOPI taxes are industry- and place-specific, but the allocation of TOPI among its components, e.g., sales tax and property tax, is only place-specific.
For these reasons, we recommend constructing your own estimates of direct taxes whenever possible and using the model estimates for indirect and induced tax impacts.
Notes regarding property taxes:
- When you run money through a new construction sector, the direct TOPI are the taxes paid by the construction company. The taxes on the finished building are not included. They are not captured until you start "operating" the building.
- Because home ownership is treated as an industry (Sector 441 Owner-Occupied Dwellings), households' real estate property taxes are included in the Owner-Occupied Dwellings sector's TOPI. Some states collect tax on personal property separate from real estate (e.g., boats, cars); these show up as Households' payments to Personal Tax: Property Taxes in the Tax Impact Report.
Additional Thoughts:
- Is there a reason as to why the machinery and tools tax would only be paid in year one? Is the tax only paid on new equipment?
- In most cases, specialized equipment is imported. For the $17 Million in food product manufacturing (Activity 1 Event 2), is the equipment being purchased directly from a local manufacturer, or is it purchased from a local wholesaler?
- For Event 1 Activity 2: You may already have, but when both Employment and Employee Compensation are known, we recommend entering Employee Compensation first.
Hope this helps and let us know if you have any additional questions.
Regards,
IMPLAN Staff
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