Perry & Co. is a provider of Corporate Property Tax Services (“CPTS”) for those clients in need of a real property tax portfolio management outsourcing solution. Our company works with the client to determine what form of CPTS engagement works best for the client. Whichever makes the most economic business sense for the client, such arrangements may take the form of:

1. retain on a short or long term consulting agency basis;
2. as a contract employee;
3. property-by-property assignment basis; or,
4. a combination of all the above.

1. an annual review of all assigned parcels comparing current market value with the property’s assessment;
2. identifying those properties that may be materially over valued by the assessment agency;
3. perform a comparison review of internal market value analysis with an analysis of the assessment agency’s assumptions, valuation methodologies, and valuation conclusion;
4. only after presenting and reviewing the comparison findings with the client, and with written authorization from the client, a Perry & Co. representative will meet with the assessment agency seeking an amicable resolution.
5. if an amicable resolution cannot be attained to the satisfaction of the client, a written protest may be filed with the appropriate assessment hearing agency;
6. in preparation for the assessment appeal hearing, we will prepare a comprehensive market valuation analysis supporting our position and initiate negotiations with the assessing agency in an attempt to resolve the valuation differences;
7. if a resolution is not reached, we will attend all hearings and arrange for additional expert testimony if needed, and present all necessary evidence of value in support of our position;
8. after the hearing, we will verify and monitor all assessment parcel reductions ensuring our client receives the benefit of the assessment appeal order.

Over the past 30 years, Perry & Co.’s has successfully managed property tax administration matters throughout North America on behalf of its clients in a wide variety of industries. This North American presence has lent itself to developing many local governmental relationships based on creditability, knowledge, experience, appraisal methodology expertise offering us a critical edge in managing our client’s property tax liability in a variety of business segments, including:

1. agriculture;
2. aviation;
3. automotive;
4. back-office / call centers;
5. chemical (e.g., coatings, paint);
6. consumer products (e.g., plumbing products, cabinetry, plastics, consumer services, tools, paint, furniture, oil & gas exploration tooling, hardware, electronics);
7. corporate & divisional headquarters;
8. data centers;
9. defense (e.g., rolled metals, forged, casting);
10. general / advanced manufacturing (e.g., steel, brass, plastics, wood, fabric);
11. R&D;
12. warehouse/distribution/logistics;
13. waste water treatment; and,
14. woodworking (e.g., kiln drying, milling, rough/finished cut, finishing, logistics).

With over 30 years of experience providing real property tax management services, Perry & Co. has successfully collaborated with clients and the assessment community on a proactive manner resolving real property tax assessed valuation disputes of all varieties of commercial and industrial properties as noted in the section above. The fundamentals of our proactive property tax consulting service include assessment review, market valuation analysis, administrative negotiations, and formal appeal if necessary.

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Our proactive approach is very simple, the optimal time to begin a property tax assignment is well before the assessment agency has established its preliminary taxable value for the ensuing tax year. Once the assessment agency has determined the ensuing year taxable value, it may be too late to reach a mutually agreed upon taxable value without filing an application to appeal the assessment before a local administrative board of review or higher tax tribunal/court. We encourage property owners to be proactive in their pursuit of seeking a fair and equitable taxable value; it is the most cost effective means for a property owner and the assessment agency to manage the property’s annual taxable valuation.

The tangible personal property tax is a unique form of ad valorem taxation with many nuances varying from state to state and varying levels of complexity from industry to industry. For over 30-years, Perry & Co. has provided multistate tangible personal property compliance services to our clients. Our compliance services can be as broad as a comprehensive outsourcing solution tailored to meet the needs of each client, contract employee, or a single compliance assignment on a location by location basis.

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Whichever the form of engagement, we take a proactive approach to managing personal property tax compliance by first performing a reverse audit with the intent of discovering any audit reversal opportunities. Once the reverse audit of prior year’s return(s) is complete, we then prepare and file the next year’s personal property return before the statutory due date. If there are any errors discovered during the reverse audit examination, with prior client authorization, we may request the assessing agency perform an audit verification of our finding leading to an assessment reduction and tax refund. If the client is selected for the assessing agency’s annual audit sample selection, we will provide audit representation, negotiation, and appeal if necessary.

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Whether the engagement is single-sourced solution, contract employee, or single compliance assignment consulting project, the client should expect a representative of Perry & Co. to review clients:

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• accounting policies and chart of accounts;
• reconciliation of fixed asset subsidiary ledger to the general ledger and balance sheet;
• after performing an onsite inspection of fixed assets, reconcile assets on the premises with the fixed asset subsidiary ledger identifying “phantom” and “phoenix” assets and other assets that may be located at client’s other locations;
• properly identify phantom assets and reclassify special use assets in the fixed asset subsidiary ledger so they are properly rendered on the personal property tax return;
• prepare tangible personal property tax return;
• forecast annual tax estimates and accruals;
• file personal property tax valuation appeals, if necessary;
• attend assessment appeal hearings before local review boards; and,
• verify and recommend for payment current year tax bills for payment.

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In conjunction with Perry & Co.’s tangible personal property tax service, we maintain a special relationship with fixed asset management firms offering a comprehensive fixed asset accounting service. These fixed asset accounting services include fixed asset physical inventories, asset tagging, fixed asset accounting subsidiary ledger creation, cost segregation, and purchase price allocation studies. We have found the fixed asset inventory to better identify and eliminate phantom assets and other special use assets forcing the elimination of erroneous reporting and excessive property tax assessments. Fixed asset inventories are also used to better classify personal property on the return and a more accurate reflection of the fixed asset’s taxable cost basis through a better understanding of client’s fixed asset accounting policy and capitalization practices.

Perry & Co. is not a law firm so in the rare instances in which a property tax assessment appeal goes to a tax tribunal or tax court, Perry & Co. will vigorously assist client’s retained legal counsel with litigation support. We will recommend to the client and work with legal counsel, independent appraiser(s), and other expert witnesses throughout the entire legal process. Our expert property tax consultants assist the appeals team with subject matter research, preliminary valuation fact finding, filing the appeal application, answering interrogatories and other discovery requests, property inspections, and act as a subject matter expert. We also assist client’s appeal team prepare for hearings, participate in settlement conferences as requested by counsel. Because we remain immersed in the appeals process as subject matter experts and not advocate as that is the role of legal counsel, we are able to advise our client through the nuances of the assessment appeals process offering proactive recommendations to the client and appeals team leading toward the desired amicable resolution.

For over 30 years, Perry & Co. has represented its corporate clients with such site selection inducement services as tax incentives, tax credits, tax increment financing, bond financing, monetary and land grants. Identifying an existing building or greenfield site is only a portion of the overall site selection solution; aligning the client’s labor, logistics, public utilities, and other factors key to the client’s overall business strategy is essential to the elimination of competing sites relative to the right site within the right region.

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Often, awarding an incentive package is the only solution available in a local jurisdiction’s economic development tool kit making a site economically competitive with other competing sites in the region. In addition to the local incentive package, the overall state and local government incentive package must be aligned with the overall tax planning strategy of the client’s parent entity; Perry & Co. will work with the client ensuring the negotiated incentive package contains the right mix of incentives complementing the parent company’s overall tax planning strategy.

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Other closely related services include energy, labor, logistics, and competing site comparative cost comparison modeling.