Bill takes another shot at 'silly' business tax

Personal property exemptions would expand under plan

By Lynn Bartels, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Rice says goal is to fix a "tax that no one can make sense of."

A Golden businessman jumped through hoops to figure out his business personal property tax bill, which came to a whopping $60.45.

Joe Schneckenburger, who owns rental property, complained to Rep. Joe Rice, D-Littleton.

"I'll pay you $500 to leave me alone," Schneckenburger offered.

He is not alone in his frustration over what seems to be the most hated tax in the state.

Opponents argue they pay sales tax when they buy computers, waste baskets, refrigerators, heavy equipment and such, and then pay corporate income taxes based on their profits. They question why on top of that they annually have to pay business personal property taxes on the equipment they own.

The business personal property tax forms are based on deterioration schedules and are so time consuming - for the owner, the county and the state - that Rice estimated 42 percent of the revenue the tax brings in goes to administering it.

He introduced House Bill 1225, which would increase the number of small businesses that are exempt from paying the tax. Currently, businesses with less than $2,500 in taxable property are exempt. Rice's bill raises the exemption to $7,000 over three years, with regular increases after that.

Under his bill, an additional 30,600 businesses would be exempt from paying what Rice called "a silly, complicated tax that no one can make sense of."

"This is the first step," Rice cautioned. "I want to make that clear. We have not solved the business personal property tax problem."

Optimistic business leaders, who want the tax eliminated, crossed their fingers Tuesday when the House Finance Committee approved Rice's bill.

For years, they've watched as lawmakers struggled with a way to get rid of the business personal property tax without hurting local governments and school districts that rely on it. Most efforts have failed.

Schneckenburger said he is all for Rice's bill, and anything that will address the tax.

What is strange, he said, is that he's required to pay business personal property taxes on some of his holdings, but not on other, similar properties.

What's the county's explanation?

Schneckenburger has never asked.

"Truthfully," he said, with a laugh, "it's one of those things you don't want to ask about."

bartels@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5327