Daryl had maintained a relationship with the controller since they had worked together previously, and the controller had worked at various business who had been involved in Wisconsin sales and use tax audits over the years. Once the auditor provided initial schedules with significant questioned transactions, the company called NTWR Consulting to seek assistance in evaluation the transactions. The transactions were complex and dealt with distinguishing between real property services and landscaping service which Wisconsin taxed. Additionally, the Company acted as its own general contractor so there were many challenges with services provided by subcontractors. Ultimately, Daryl was able to work with the auditor to arrive at reasonable allocations based upon supporting information provided by the third parties to minimize the amount that were deemed taxable landscaping services.

The personal property tax roll is a public document in Wisconsin. Assessors will make adjustments identified until the time of the board of review which handles real property tax appeals. Unfortunately, it was determined that the self-reported assets were excessive after that time for informal corrections. Daryl worked directly with the assessor to correct some errors for assets that were exempt by statute and items that were considered real property and should have not been included on the personal property return. Because these were “palpable errors” and Daryl’s relationship with the assessment firm, the assessor voluntarily agreed to correct the roll in the summer. Otherwise, the company would have needed to pay the taxes in full and file a legal claim for excessive taxes. The assessed value reduction was almost $3 million and the tax reduction in the first year alone was over $65,000.