The West Dallas business has been family-owned for three generations. The company keeps about $100,000 worth of metal in its inventory."I couldn't make anything and sell anything if I didn't have this inventory to start with. We use these metals to make the parts then sell to the customer."
But Ellard pointed out they still had to pay the same tax on their equipment and inventory."It's not based on profitability, it's not based on usage, it's just based on, is it in your building." In a statement, the State Director of the NFIB, Annie Spilman said,"Increasing the exemptions for, or completely repealing the business personal property tax has long been a priority for NFIB."That exemption rose to $2,500 two years ago.
Ellard said that would save the company about $2,000 a year in property taxes."I think that $100,000 is a good starting point, but it needs to go up so that I can be competitive with California, with New York, with Oklahoma, Louisiana."