Utah ranks favorably in a new study that compares the total tax burden levied on old and new corporations across all 50 states.

The 200-page “Location Matters” places Utah sixth from the top in terms of lightest tax burden for mature firms (10 years old and up) and 10th overall for newly established firms that qualify for incentives.

Its promoters say the research will be an invaluable tool for companies, but others wonder whether the numbers tell the whole story.

Compiled by the Washington, D.C.-based Tax Foundation and KPMG LLP, a global audit and tax firm, the study uses seven hypothetical firm models — corporate headquarters, research and development facilities, retail stores, call centers, distribution centers, capital-intensive manufacturing and labor-intensive manufacturing.

Current Taxes factored into the total rate include corporate income, property, sales, unemployment insurance, capital stock, inventory and gross receipts. For new firms, incentives include new job credits, investment credits, research and development credits, payroll and withholding tax rebates, and property tax abatements.

In a recent conference call, Tax Foundation president Scott Hodge described the study as “one of the most extensive comparisons of real-world corporate tax costs that’s ever been undertaken.”

Highs and lows  “Paying corporate taxes is a lot like buying cars,” Hodge said. “Everyone seems to pay a different price.” However, he believes the state-to-state comparisons will prove useful.

“We’re zeroing in on the firm-level or bottom-line question that we often get from business owners: How much will my company pay in taxes?”

According to the study, Wyoming had the lowest overall tax burden for mature firms, while Pennsylvania had the highest. For new firms, Nebraska had the lightest hit, while Hawaii had the heaviest.

Utah enjoys a relatively low 5 percent corporate income tax rate, but five states — including neighbors Nevada and Wyoming — levy no corporate income tax.

What do the numbers really say? Bob Springmeyer, a principal with the Salt Lake City-based consulting firm Bonneville Research, said the study confines itself to a narrow perspective.

“Wyoming comes out on top because it has no corporate income tax and its other taxes are low. They get all their money from oil, gas and coal. But you don’t find businesses wanting to locate there.”

When Utah faced fierce competition in 2010 to land the contract for the National Security Agency data center at Camp Williams, its favorable energy costs, Internet infrastructure, vibrant software industry and proximity to the Salt Lake City International Airport won the day, not its tax appeal, he argued.

Springmeyer said there was another factor. “Utah ranks low in terms of wages. You can hire good, hardworking, well-educated, dependable people here for less than in most places.”

How much do taxes matter?: The study reinforces that Utah knows how to “keep government out of the wallet of business,” said Christopher Conabee, managing director for corporate recruitment in the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED).

Conabee believes that Utah’s post-performance incentives pose less risk than up-front financial enticements offered elsewhere. Companies recently tapping the state’s incentives include IM Flash Technologies, eBay, Adobe, Procter & Gamble and Goldman Sachs.

Adobe’s website touts its Orem location as a place where employees enjoy diverse seasons, landscapes and recreational opportunities that make it “possible to mountain bike, golf, water ski, and snowmobile — all in one day.”

“When you look at Utah’s total package, that’s why we continue to have great business growth,” Conabee said.

Bonneville Research was commissioned by the State of Utah to prepare a business plan for the DABC (Utah Dept. of Alcohol and Beverage Control).

Bonneville Research prepared interactive maps showing where current State Liquor and Wine stores are located and where grocery store anchored shopping centers are located and which ones may to too close to schools, churches and other "public places".

Click on the following link to see!

http://bonnevilleresearch.com/dabc/index.html

Bonneville Research principals, Bob and Jon Springmeyer presented their report to the Business and Labor Interim Committee on Wednesday morning November 16th.  The following news stories are reporting that report.

• Utah state liquor stores really profitable, consultant says, Deseret News, December 13, 2011

• Audit: More cash shortages in Utah liquor operations, Salt Lake Tribune, November 23, 2011

• Alcohol paradox frazzles lawmakers - IN OUR VIEW - Daily Herald (Provo), November 23, 2011

• Liquor Stores - Salt Lake Tribune EDITORIAL, November 21, 2011

• Firm suggests liquor stores be in or near grocery stores - Ogden Daily Herald, November 17, 2011

• Study shows way to privatize Utah liquor sales, save - The Salt Lake Tribune, Wednesday, November 16, 2011 

• Demo lawmakers announce new look at DABC day before consultant report - Deseret News, Wednesday, November 16, 2011

• Consultant: Grocery stores should sell liquor through separate facilities - Deseret News, Nov. 16, 2011

• Research firm suggests ways to increase profits of liquor sales in Utah (Video) - KSTU Fox News 13, November 16, 2011

• Utah lawmakers consider changes to liquor business, CBS News, November 16, 2011

• Utah lawmakers looking at changes to state-run liquor business, including grocery store sales, The Republic, November 16, 2011

• Liquor should be sold by grocery stores, only in different building, consultant says, KSL TV, November 16, 2011

• Consultant: Grocery stores should sell liquor through separate facilities - Deseret News, November 16, 2011

• Report Recommends Allowing Private Liquor Sales Next to Grocery Stores | KCPW, November 16, 2011

• Utah lawmakers hear pitch for more private liquor sales - Salt Lake Tribune, November 16, 2011

• INTERVIEW (Audio): Jon Springmeyer - Bonneville Research - Utah's DABC Looking To Minimize Cost And Maximize Profits, KRNS, November 16, 2011

  
  

By Cathy McKitrick, The Salt Lake Tribune, Published: November 26, 2011 04:43PM

• A potential $375 billion could come from taxing Wall Street transactions, corporations and millionaires. Since 2001, the United States has borrowed almost $1 trillion to provide tax breaks to the rich, and the report recommends reversing those Bush-era tax cuts as “the first step in any program to reduce deficits and raise revenue.”

• Defense cuts, yielding $252 billion, include ending the war in Afghanistan, exiting Iraq, reducing the nuclear warhead arsenal, closing one-third of U.S. bases in Europe and Asia and other cutbacks.

• $197 billion could come from taxes on carbon emissions, air and water pollution, along with the elimination of subsidies for fossil fuels, ethanol, clean coal, nuclear power and projects that harm the environment.

Reaction in Republican-dominated Utah seemed to mirror the divide paralyzing Congress.

Jeff Thredgold, an economist who serves as a consultant to Zions Bank in Salt Lake City, said “it sounds like a wish list written by liberal Democrats. You wouldn’t find a single Republican who would agree with that.”

Bob Springmeyer, a former Democratic candidate for governor and president of Salt Lake City-based Bonneville Research, spoke for others when he said he believes that some of the proposals have merit, although he added that “some will probably be impossible to do.”

 

 

If all goes as planned, excavation will begin this week for construction of Layton’s first apartment complex east of Interstate 15 in the past 12 years.

So says Kaysville-based developer Gardner Crane, who has been a partial owner of the 5-acre East Layton parcel near Church Street and Highway 193 for the past seven years. Well-positioned near Hill Air Force Base, schools, shopping and restaurants, Crane is optimistic about the $10 million project’s viability.

“We always planned to do high-end apartments,” Crane said, “but the market hasn’t justified it until this new economy arrived.”

Teaming with Michael Schultz, owner of Roy-based Castle Creek Homes, Crane is eager to get started on the eight-building project that will take about 18 months to complete.

“We have a broad target market,” Crane said, “of empty-nesters, single parents, newlyweds and young professionals,” anyone but a large traditional family that needs more than three bedrooms.

Today’s ailing economy and tightened credit climate have made it increasingly difficult for people to obtain home mortgage loans, thus increasing demand for attractive rental housing.

According to the National Association of Home Builders, foreclosure rates have slowed but new single-family home sales have remained consistently low since the first of the year. And existing home sales have continued to decline.

Bob Springmeyer is president of Bonneville Research, a Salt Lake City-based consulting firm. From January to July, Davis County issued 797 housing permits, Springmeyer said; 405 of them for multifamily units.

Of that number, 333 of the multifamily projects were in Farmington and five in Layton.

“Davis County is a jewel that is waiting to be developed,” Springmeyer said. “I’ve always thought there was extraordinary opportunity for commercial, entrepreneurial and flex space there.”

For years, many of the county’s residents have commuted to neighboring Weber or Salt Lake counties to work. But that scenario is beginning to change.

For example, Clearfield is home to the new 600,000-square-foot ATK facility that will build composite aircraft parts and over several years add up to 800 new jobs.

“Since January, Davis County has added 5,713 jobs to our labor force,” said Kent Sulser, Davis County’s community and economic development director.

The county’s unemployment rate hovers around 7 percent, about two percentage points below the national average. And Sulser attributes Davis’ favorable position to balanced land use and valuable public-private partnerships.

“We have worked diligently and closely with local communities to promote and preserve land sites for future developments,” Sulser said.

As a result, thousands of Davis County acres have been rezoned, Sulser said, and five large mixed-use projects are under construction: Falcon Hill, East Gate, Farmington Station, Park Lane Commons and Legacy Crossing.

ARTICLE URL: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/52522899-78/county-davis-crane-sulser.html.csp