County will spend $1 million to audit business taxpayers

Hopefully, if you operate a business in Guilford County, you have correctly recorded and valued all properties you own or use for that business.

Because on Thursday, Nov. 7, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners will approve spending nearly $1 million to hire outside auditors trying to find businesses in the county that are cheating on or underpaying their taxes simply because they made calculation errors or were honestly wrong. undervalued property, etc.

The board will approve the contract with Charlotte-based Tax Management Associates Inc. to provide business and property tax audit services for the Guilford County Tax Department.

North Carolina law allows counties to invite appraisal firms and other firms that have “experience in performing one or more of the duties of an appraiser to assist the appraiser in performing those duties.”

For each business inspection performed, the county will pay the firm $795.

Guilford County Tax Director Ben Chavis is a pleasant man and a minister who says a prayer before the start of county commissioners’ meetings. But he seems to particularly like the verse: “Render therefore unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God of God.”

Because Caesar—that is, Guilford County under the current Democratic-led board—is accumulating massive debt and adding new programs and services every month.

And the county needs more money, more money, more money to pay for it.

Chavis and his department almost always lead counties across the state when it comes to collecting a very high percentage of all property taxes. He has told Rhino Times in the past that he sees it as a matter of “fairness” because everyone should pay what they owe, otherwise it’s unfair to other taxpayers.

The good thing is that since Chavis is a man of God, if you cheat on your taxes and get caught, God requires him to forgive you. Of course, you will still have to pay, but the tax director will forgive you.

Earlier this year, the county issued a request for bids to provide business personal property tax audit services for the Guilford County Tax Department. As a result of this process, County staff selected Tax Management Associates Inc. to sign a three-year contract with an option to extend for two years.

The Board of Commissioners will put its official stamp on the deal later this week.

The cost of three-year inspections is $954,000 – that’s 400 inspections at $795 each, which is $318,000 per year.

The audits will examine personal property taxes of businesses.

This will include any physical property owned or controlled by the company, such as:

machinery, equipment, computers, furniture, business supplies, building improvements and farm equipment.

This does not include inventory items or the cost of the building.

Businesses in North Carolina must file a list of so-called “personal business property” every January – and face penalties for late or inaccurate declarations.

Guilford County tax officials know audits can be an inconvenient process for Guilford County residents, and Tax Management Associates said in a statement that the auditing firm is well aware of that.

“TMA is proud of its comprehensive public relations program and the professional manner in which TMA deals with individual taxpayers,” the company said in a statement to the county. “Public relations is a large part of our business and we are dedicated to being the number one ambassador for the client. TMA’s goal has always been to deliver a successful revenue-generating project that the jurisdiction can be proud of when communicating with its members and peers. TMA understands that interactions with taxpayers must be professional and courteous and achieve project objectives. TMA has the know-how to successfully manage taxpayer interactions and strives to create positive experiences at every opportunity. Our goal is to always remain understanding while informing the taxpayer of applicable tax requirements, helping them complete the process, and conducting an on-site interview with the taxpayer to reconcile the results.”

In North Carolina, county tax departments are required to conduct audits of businesses to ensure they are correctly reporting and assessing the property used in their operations. These audits are designed to verify that the listed property and its associated values ​​comply with state and county tax regulations. The North Carolina Department of Revenue provides general guidelines and standards for assessments; however, each county has discretion to determine the scope and frequency of inspections it conducts or outsources.