Question 1

What is BPP tax?

Accepted Answer

BPP tax or Business Personal Property tax is an ad valorem tax on tangible property used in the production of income in a business.  It includes machinery, equipment, inventory, supplies, office furniture, fixtures, business vehicles, and computer equipment.  BPP is exempt from property tax in some states.

Question 2

What are the implications of failure to render?

Accepted Answer

There are a variety of consequences associated with the failure to render personal property and other required compliance taxes.  Consequence and remedy vary by taxing jurisdiction.  The most common is loss of appeal rights as well as penalty to tax liabilities. Consequence and remedy can vary.

Question 3

Do you provide a tax bill payment solution?

Accepted Answer

Crest utilizes a strategic partnership with best-in-class bill payment solution, AnyBill Financial Solutions.  Our internal tax team works to provide these services seamlessly to our clients.

Question 4

How are minerals valued for tax purposes in Texas?

Accepted Answer

Mineral interests in Texas are valued utilizing Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) methodology, estimated future net revenue converted to present worth.

Question 5

What recourse is available when all formal and informal value negotiations are exhausted?

Accepted Answer

In certain states, when a property tax value cannot be agreed upon by a property owner and the assessing authority through informal and formal hearings, the property owner may have the option of pursuing relief through mediation or litigation.

Question 6

What are the biggest factors impacting the opinion of value for personal property?

Accepted Answer

The most important factors impacting the values are classification, age, size, and utilization.

Question 7

What is a Direct Pay Permit and when is it a good idea?

Accepted Answer

A direct pay permit is a special type of sales tax permit which allows a consumer to self-administer their own sales and use tax. Most states have this available, but you must qualify and apply for the permit. It also may require a periodic renewal. Generally, a direct pay permit is allowed for a sophisticated taxpayer who makes $800k or more a year in taxable purchases. The permit holder can then issue a certificate or a permit copy to their vendors and this allows them to turn off charging sales tax. The permit holder then self-assesses and reports their own tax on a regular basis. This is the only way that a consumer can legally absolve a seller from having to collect sales tax. This cannot be done merely by contract or other agreement. A direct pay permit holder can expect regular audits to occur but there are some advantages for certain taxpayers. 1) A permit of this type allows you to defer tax on self-fabricated equipment until it is put into service. This can reduce the applicable tax rate or at least delay paying tax in until you know where it should be allocated. 2) This allows a consumer to allocate tax to different locations once the basis is known rather than rely on a vendor to attempt to do it. Which may be impossible since the information to make an allocation may not be available at the time of sale. So, software and certain services this can allow for more accurate taxation and reduce, perhaps, the amount due overall. 3) A direct pay allows a consumer to avoid vendor sales tax collection mistakes by simply turning off their tax so it can be properly handled. This often allows for more precise taxation and less errors, and less of a need to file refund claims. 4) finally, in some jurisdictions the direct pay permit holder can change the sourcing from origin based to destination, where the tax rate may be outside of city limits and therefore a lower rate. Direct pay permits are sometimes restricted on how they can be used. For instance, they are not used for resale items or inventory, and may not be allowed for certain types of construction services, so do you due diligence before you get this type of permit.

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