q q
Principles qof qTaxation qfor qBusiness qand qInvestment qPlanning q2025 qEvergreen qRelease qBy qSally qJones,
qShelley qRhoades-Catanach
ter q1 qTaxes qand qTaxing qJurisdictions
Questions qand qProblems qfor qDiscussion
1. Tax qpayments qdiffer qfrom qgovernment qfines qand qpenalties qbecause qthey qaren‘t qintended qto
qdeter qor qpunish qunacceptable qbehavior. qTax qpayments qdiffer qfrom qfees qor quser qcharges
qbecause qthey qdon‘t qentitle qthe qpayer qto qa qspecific qgovernment qgood qor qservice, qsuch qas qa
qpostage qstamp qor qa qdriver‘s qlicense. qTax qpayments qalso qdiffer qfrom qfees qor quser qcharges
qbecause qthey qare qcompulsory.
2. This qpayment qhas qcharacteristics qof qa qtax, qa qpenalty, qand qa quser qfee. qThe qcompulsory
qpayment qis qnot qspecifically qpunitive qbut qdoes qapply qselectively qto qthose qcompanies qmost
qlikely qresponsible qfor qthe qpolluted qcondition qof qGreen qRiver. qHowever, qthese qsame
qcompanies qmay qbe qthe qentities qthat qbenefit qmost qfrom qthe qenvironmental qclean-up.
3. This qpayment qmore qclosely qresembles qa qfee qfor qa qgovernment qservice qthan qa qtransaction-
based qtax qbecause qthe qtransaction qoccurs qbetween qa qprivate qparty qand qthe qjurisdiction qitself,
qrather qthan qbetween qprivate qparties qengaging qin qa qmarket qtransaction. qThe qpayment qalso
qentitles qthe qpayer qto qa qspecific qbenefit q(the qright qto qmarry qunder qlaw).
4. To qthe qextent qthat qthe qdecline qin qexterior qmaintenance qreduces qthe qvalue qof qMr. qPowell‘s
qapartment qcomplex, qhe qbears qthe qincidence qof qthe qincreased qproperty qtax. qTo qthe qextent qthat
qthe qdecline qreduces qthe qvalue qof qadjoining qproperties qor qmakes qthe qneighborhood qless
qattractive, qthe qowners qof qthe qadjoining qproperties qand qthe qneighborhood qresidents qshare qthe
qincidence qof qthe qtax qincrease.
5. People qwho qdon‘t qdirectly quse qpublic qschools q(such qas qMr. qand qMrs. qAhern qor qpeople qwho
qdon‘t qhave qchildren) qindirectly qbenefit qfrom qa qpublic qeducation qsystem qfor qthe qgeneral
qpopulation. qArguably, qpublic qeducation qcontributes qto qa qskilled qworkforce qand qimproves qthe
qcultural qand qsocial qenvironment qin qwhich qMr. qand qMrs. qAhern qlive. qBased qon qthis qargument,
qMr. qand qMrs. qAhern qshould qnot qbe qexempt qfrom qthe qlocal qproperty qtax.
6. The qconsumers qwho qpay qthe qsame qprice qfor qa qsmaller qbar qof qsoap qof qlesser qquality
qbear qthe qincidence qof qthe qnew qgross qreceipts qtax.
7. Real qproperty qcan‘t qbe qhidden qor qmoved, qand qits qownership q(legal qtitle) qis qa qmatter qof
qpublic qrecord. qIn qcontrast, qpersonal qproperty qis qmobile qand qmay qbe qeasily qconcealed.
qMoreover, qjurisdictions qmay qnot qhave qan qeffective qmeans qto qdiscover qor qtrace
qownership qof qpersonal qproperty.
8. Arguably, qprivate qgolf qcourses qbeautify qthe qlocality qand qare qenvironmentally qmore qdesirable
qthan qother qcommercial qactivities. qThey qalso qmay qrequire qmore qacreage qthan qother
qbusinesses qand, qtherefore, qwould qbe qat qa qcompetitive qdisadvantage qwithout qa qpreferential
qreal qproperty qtax qrate.
9. Many qjurisdictions qthat qlevy qproperty qtaxes qprovide qan qexemption qfor qpublic qinstitutions,
qsuch qas qstate quniversities qor qprivate qcolleges. qIf qUniversity qK qis qentitled qto qsuch qan
qexemption, qevery qcommercial qbuilding qor qresidence qacquired qby qthe qUniversity qreduces qthe
qlocal qjurisdiction‘s qproperty qtax qbase.
Copyright q©2020 qMcGraw-Hill qEducation. qAll qrights qreserved.
No qreproduction qor qdistribution qwithout qthe qprior qwritten qconsent qof qMcGraw-Hill
qEducation.
1-1
,10. Excise qtaxes qare qimposed qon qa qmuch qnarrower qrange qof qconsumer qgoods qand qservices
qthan qsales qtaxes. qConsequently, qpeople qcan qmore qreadily qavoid qpurchasing qthe qspecific
qgood qor qservice qsubject qto qexcise qtax.
11. The qtax qincrease qmay qhave qreduced qthe qaggregate qdemand qfor qconsumer qgoods qand,
qconsequently, qmunicipal qresidents qare qbuying qfewer qgoods. qA qsecond qpossibility qis qthat
qmunicipal qresidents qare qtraveling qto qother qjurisdictions qwith qlower qtax qrates qor qmaking qmore
qpurchases qthrough qmail qorder qcatalogs qor qon-line.
12. From qa qpolitical qperspective, qliquor qand qcigarettes qsales qmake qan qexcellent qtax qbase qbecause
qconsumption qof qthe qtwo qproducts qis qpurely qdiscretionary, qand qany qdecline qin qconsumption
q because qof qthe qtax qis qsocially qdesirable. qFrom qan qeconomic qperspective, qthese qsales qare qa
qgood qtax q base qbecause qthe qdemand qfor qliquor q and qcigarettes qis qrelatively q price qinelastic. qIn
qother q words, qpeople qwho qdrink qand qsmoke qon qa qregular qbasis qbuy qthese qproducts
qregardless qof qa qheavy qexcise qtax.
13. The qfederal qincome qhas qthe qbroader qbase. qThe qfederal qpayroll qtax qis qimposed qon qwages,
qsalaries, qand qother qforms qof qcompensation qearned qby qemployees. qThe qfederal qincome qtax qis
qimposed qon q all qtypes qof qcompensation qas qwell qas qnet qbusiness qprofit, qinvestment qincome,
qand qany qother qincome qitem qfrom qwhatever qsource qderived.
14. A qproperty qtax qis qa qperiodic q(usually qannual) qtax qlevied qon qthe qownership qof qproperty qand
qbased qon qthe qvalue qof qthe qproperty qon qa qparticular qassessment qdate. qA qtransfer qtax qis qa
qtransaction- qbased qtax qlevied qon qthe qtransfer qof qproperty qfrom qone qparty qto qanother. qA
qtransfer qtax qis qbased qon qthe qvalue qof qthe qproperty qat qdate qof qtransfer.
15. If qthe qfederal qgovernment qcould q―piggy qback‖ qa qnational qsales qtax qon qexisting qstate qsales
qtax qcollection qsystems, qthe qfederal qgovernment qcould qavoid qcreating qa qnew qfederal qagency
qfor qcollecting qthe qtax. qIn qcontrast, qthe qfederal qgovernment qwould qhave qto qcreate qa qnew
qcollection qsystem qfor qa qnational qVAT. qHowever, qa qnational qVAT qwould qbe qless qlikely qto
qcause qjurisdictional qconflict qbetween qthe qfederal qgovernment qand qthe qstates qbecause qstates
qdon‘t qdepend qon qVATs qas qa qsource qof qrevenue.
16. The qInternal qRevenue qCode qis qfederal qstatutory qlaw, qenacted qby qCongress qand qsigned qby
qthe qPresident. qTechnically, qTreasury qregulations qonly qinterpret qand qexplain qthe qstatute qand
qaren‘t qlaws qin qtheir qown qright. qThus, qregulations qare qless qauthoritative qthan qthe qCode qitself.
qHowever, qbecause qCongress qauthorized qthe qTreasury qto qwrite qregulations, qthey qare qthe
qgovernment‘s qofficial qinterpretation qof qstatutory qlaw. qPractically, qthe qregulations qcarry
qconsiderable qauthoritative qweight.
Application qProblems
1. a. q The qstatement qof qfacts qidentifies qthree qtaxpayers: qMr. qJosh qKenney, qJK qServices,
q and qJK qRealty.
b. The qgovernment qof qthe qlocality qin qwhich qMr. qKenney qresides, qthe qstate qgovernment qof
qVermont, qand qthe qU.S. qgovernment qhave qjurisdiction qto qtax qMr. qKenney. qThe qlocal
qgovernments qof qthe qfour qcounties qin qwhich qJK qServices qconducts qbusiness, qthe qstate
qgovernment qof qVermont, qand qthe qU.S. qgovernment qhave qjurisdiction qto qtax qJK qServices.
qThe qcity qof qBoston, qthe qstate qgovernment qof qMassachusetts, qand qthe qU.S. qgovernment
qhave qjurisdiction qto qtax qJK qRealty.
2. a. q q The qUnited qStates qhas qjurisdiction qto qtax qMrs. qMay qbecause qshe qis qa qpermanent qresident.
b. The qUnited qStates qhas qjurisdiction qto qtax qMrs. qMay qonly qon qthe qU.S. qsource qrental
qincome qgenerated qby qthe qManhattan qreal qestate.
Copyright q©2020 qMcGraw-Hill qEducation. qAll qrights qreserved.
No qreproduction qor qdistribution qwithout qthe qprior qwritten qconsent qof qMcGraw-Hill
qEducation.
1-2
, c. The qUnited qStates qdoes qnot qhave qjurisdiction qto qtax qMrs. qMay.
d. The qUnited qStates qhas qjurisdiction qto qtax qMrs. qMay qbecause qshe qis qa qU.S. qcitizen.
3. a. q q The qUnited qStates qhas qjurisdiction qto qtax qMr. qTompkin qbecause qhe qis qa qU.S qcitizen.
b. The qUnited qStates qhas qjurisdiction qto qtax qMr. qTompkin qonly qon qthe qU.S. qsource qrental
qincome qgenerated qby qthe qBuffalo qreal qestate.
c. The qUnited qStates qhas qjurisdiction qto qtax qMr. qTompkin qbecause qhe qis qa qpermanent qresident.
d. The qUnited qStates qhas qjurisdiction qto qtax qMr. qTompkin qon qhis qshare qof qthe qU.S.
qsource qbusiness qincome qgenerated qby qSophic qPartnership.
4. State qA:
Volume qof qsales qbefore qrate qincrease $800,000,000
Original qtax qrate .05
Revenue qbefore qrate qincrease $40,000,000
Volume qof qsales qafter qrate qincrease $710,000,000
New qtax q rate .06
Revenue qafter qrate qincrease $42,600,000
Additional qrevenue q($42,600,000 q− q$40,000,000) $2,600,000
State qZ:
Volume qof qsales qadded qto qtax qbase $50,000,000
Tax qrate .05
Additional qrevenue $2,500,000
5. a. q q The qproperty qtax qis q$8,300 q($415,000 q q2%).
b. The qproperty qtax qis q$19,000 q([$500,000 q q2%] q+ q[$225,000 q q4%]).
6. a. q q The qproperty qtax qis q$39,000 q($1.3 qmillion q q3%).
b. The qproperty qtax qis q$85,000 q([$2 qmillion q q3%] q+ q[$2.5 qmillion q q1%]).
7. Increase qin qCounty qG‘s qaggregate qassessed qproperty qtax qvalue $23,000,000
qAssessed qvalue qof q Lexon‘s qnew qfacility (20,000,000)
Net qincrease qin qCounty qG‘s qtax qbase $3,000,000
qTax qrate
q .04
Net qeffect qon qCounty qG‘s qcurrent qyear qrevenue $120,000
8. a. q Value qof qproperty qpurchased qin qState qK $600,000
qUse qtax qrate qin qState qH
q .06
Pre qcredit quse qtax $36,000
Sales qtax q paid qto qState qK (18,000)
Use qtax qowed qto qState qH $18,000
b. Value qof qproperty qpurchased qin qState qL $750,000
qUse qtax q rate qin qState qH
q .06
Copyright q©2020 qMcGraw-Hill qEducation. qAll qrights qreserved.
No qreproduction qor qdistribution qwithout qthe qprior qwritten qconsent qof qMcGraw-Hill
qEducation.
1-3
, Pre qcredit quse qtax $45,000
Sales qtax q paid qto qState qL (48,750)
Use qtax qowed qto qState qH -0-
Copyright q©2020 qMcGraw-Hill qEducation. qAll qrights qreserved.
No qreproduction qor qdistribution qwithout qthe qprior qwritten qconsent qof qMcGraw-Hill
qEducation.
1-4