DALLAS, Jan. 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Nationally recognized site selection consultant John Boyd has helped with some of the biggest business site selections in Texas for numerous major corporations including AT&T, Dell and AirTouch. He was recently quoted concerning how important property taxes were to the decision by Mercedes-Benz to move its corporate offices from New Jersey to Atlanta.
"The Texas Tax System affords all property owners the right to a fair hearing on tax assessments as well as its constitutional requirement that property taxes be equal and uniform. This is an important consideration to business executives when they are making a decision on where to locate their company," said Boyd, principal of the Boyd Company Inc., a Princeton, New Jersey-based site selection consultant.
Some advocates of increasing taxes and spending have suggested eliminating the provision in the Texas Constitution that guarantees taxes will be equal and uniform.
"Any changes in the current property tax system will make it easier for other states to compete for business currently in Texas or looking at Texas as a potential site for relocation."
"While media coverage often focuses on tax abatements and incentives, business decision-makers also want to know that the state's overall tax system is reasonable, transparent and provides due process and fairness. Today, Texas meets that test," said Boyd.
"Texas offers all property owners a due process so they are not at the mercy of appraisal districts which may be under political pressure to raise tax revenue," said David Margulies, spokesman for the Coalition for Equal and Uniform Taxation. "In Texas, county appraisal districts assess values for real property, including residential, commercial and business personal property. If they do their work correctly, properties will be assessed in a uniform and equal manner."
Property owners (residential and commercial) can lower their appraisals if they can show that the values of similar properties in the area are appraised for less. Under those circumstances the appraisal district is then required to reduce the appraised value of the protesting property to the median level of appraised value of the comparable properties. If the appraisal district disagrees with the property owner they must present their case to the appraisal review board, bidding arbitration or in district court. Due process is important because without it there is the real danger that the owner of some businesses would bear a disproportionate tax burden and be less able to compete in the marketplace.
"The overall cost of living in a community is also an important relocation factor," said Boyd. "The fact that homeowners are protected by the constitutional provision for 'equal and uniform taxation' is important to business executives who want to make sure employees are protected and benefit from the relocation."
About Boyd Company, Inc.
The Boyd Company, Inc., is one of the nation's oldest and most respected corporate site selection firms. Boyd provides independent location counsel to leading Fortune 500 and up-coming corporations worldwide. Boyd's specialization, proprietary data bank and five decades of corporate site selection experience are unparalleled in the field. Boyd serves clients in a wide range of office, manufacturing, supply chain and service industries. For more information, go to http://www.theboydcompany.com.
About Coalition for Equal and Uniform Taxation
The coalition includes: the Texas Association of Business (TAB), Texas Building Owners and Managers Association (Texas BOMA), NAOIP (Commercial Real Estate Development Association), International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), Real Estate Council of Texas (RECsTX), Texas Apartment Association (TAA), Texas Association of Builders, Texas Association of Realtors, Texas Hotel & Lodging Association (THLA), Texas Self Storage Association (TSSA) and The Real Estate Council of Dallas. For more information, go to http://www.fairtaxesfortexas.com.
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SOURCE Coalition for Equal and Uniform Taxation
