Cost Segregation Analysis in the News

January 30, 2012

Cost segregation studies are in the news recently due to the Peco Foods, Inc. v. the IRS court case, wherein the tax court upheld the IRS’ denial of Peco Foods’ reclassification of assets identified by a cost segregation study.

Late last year, another cost segregation study ran into trouble with the IRS in the case of Ronald Pearce and Daryl Pearce, Plaintiffs, v. Department of Revenue, State of Oregon, Defendant. Since one of the big advantages of a cost segregation study is the supposed approval by the IRS, some folks may be wondering if a cost segregation study is still an appropriate way to reduce tax liability and create additional cash flow.  Read more... (583 words, estimated 2:20 mins reading time)

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Scope of Work for Equipment Appraisals

January 24, 2012

As a Sacramento equipment appraiser, I can verify that defining the scope of work is a critical first step in any appraisal process. Even before quoting a price on an equipment appraisal, we need to closely define our scope of work. Scope of work is defined by our friends at USPAP (Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice) as the type and extent of research and analyses in an assignment, and USPAP states in no uncertain terns that is the appraiser’s responsibility to determine and perform the appropriate scope of work.

USPAP’s Scope of Work Rule states that an appraiser must  Read more... (577 words, 1 image, estimated 2:18 mins reading time)

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Robin Erdmann ASA, RP

December 23, 2011

I regret to announce that Robin Erdmann, ASA in RP and our former ASA NorCal Chapter President (2008-2009), passed away unexpectedly on Thursday, December 22, 2011, after a very short illness. He had just turned 60 a few days before.

Robin is credited with the resurgence of our ASA NorCal Chapter; we remain very grateful to him.

Our profound condolences to Irene, Robin’s companion of many years, and to Robin’s father. No services are planned.

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Equipment Appraisals along the Central Coast

December 22, 2011

What was this equipment appraiser thankful for in November? I got to spend most of Thanksgiving week working in & enjoying California’s Central Coast. Did a cost segregation study inspection of some recently acquired farmland near Fillmore, a machine shop inspection for tax estate purposes in the Salinas Valley area and one very long day of ASA meetings in Costa Mesa. The non-work related part? A camp-out at Eureka Dunes in Death Valley and some El Capitan Beach days near Santa Barbara. We also had a personalized tour of a surfboard manufacturing shop in Ventura! You can take a similar tour by watching this video.  Read more... (381 words, estimated 1:31 mins reading time)

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Air Resources Board: Funding Awards Hearing

December 9, 2011

I got an email from the folks over at the Air Resources Board & thought I’d just pass it along here:

The Air Resources Board staff has posted a Staff Report for the
proposed December 2011 funding awards for the Proposition 1B:
Goods Movement Emission Reduction Program. The Board hearing to
consider these funding awards will be held on December 16, 2011.
Please see the Program website at  http://www.arb.ca.gov/gmbond
for more information.

The $1 billion Proposition 1B:  Goods Movement Emission Reduction
Program is a partnership between the State Air Resources Board
and local agencies (like air districts and seaports) to quickly
reduce air pollution emissions and health risk from freight
movement along California’s trade corridors.  Read more... (161 words, estimated 39 secs reading time)

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Equipment Appraisals: What about Desktop Appraisals?

December 6, 2011

Like most equipment appraisers, I generally discourage equipment desktop appraisals. Most folks who ask for one are making an assumption that a desktop appraisal, since it wouldn’t include a physical inspection of the equipment, would be less expensive, or at least quicker, and usually, it’s not.

That’s not to say that I never do a desktop equipment appraisal. Some situations are fine for desktop appraisals and I have some examples of these in my records:  Read more... (609 words, estimated 2:26 mins reading time)

    • Bankruptcy appraisal for a small pizza kitchen with limited, standard-issue restaurant equipment
    • Amiable divorce appraisal for small farm with a small inventory of standard, well-maintained equipment
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Diesel Equipment Filter Deadlines: January 2012

November 7, 2011

The Air Resources Board’s (ARB) first diesel filter deadline is January 2012, and as a recent release states, “Owners of heavy diesel trucks [in California] … need to act now in order to comply with the Truck & Bus regulation” since the process of ordering and installing the filters can take a few months.

This first deadline involves fleet vehicles with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) greater than 26,000 pounds. Lighter diesel trucks (those with GVWR of 14,001 to 26,000 pounds) will have no compliance requirements until 2015.  Read more... (595 words, 1 image, estimated 2:23 mins reading time)

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Tax-Related Appraisals: Section 6701 & Circular 230

November 1, 2011

This is the second half of an article on the consequences of the Internal Revenue Service’s new and significant enforcement initiatives that specifically target abusive tax-related appraisals and the individuals who prepare them. The first half was published in a previous post; the article is authored by Jay Fishman, FASA, Business Valuation Review Editor and Chairman of the American Society of Appraisers Government Relations Committee; Bruce Bingham, ASA, former Chairman of the Business Valuation Committee; and Peter Barash, Government Relations Consultant to the Business Valuation Committee.

Internal Revenue Code Section 6701  Read more... (1945 words, estimated 7:47 mins reading time)

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IRS Targets Abusive Tax-Related Appraisals

October 18, 2011

I thought I’d pass along some information about the IRS’ strategy for Estate Tax Returns and their related appraisal. The moral of the story is to hire a qualified appraiser and save a lot of trouble. Because this article is so long, I’ve broken it into 2 separate posts. The second half will post next week.

By Jay Fishman, FASA, Bruce Bingham, ASA, and Peter Barash  Read more... (1460 words, estimated 5:50 mins reading time)

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Rice Harvest in the Sacramento Valley

October 11, 2011


Rice harvest is underway! As usual, there’s concern about the weather, but harvest started last month with the early maturing varieties and will continue right into November. It’s fun to see all the videos of rice harvesting rolling onto the internet. Most of those videos are from the Sacramento Valley, where most of the rice in the U.S. is grown. All I have to do is take a little drive to see some live action harvesting, practically in my own backyard.  Read more... (461 words, 1 image, estimated 1:51 mins reading time)

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