2016 AED Tax Reform Survey

A once-in-a-generation tax reform debate is taking shape in Washington, D.C. AED is playing a leading role in the effort to craft a fairer, simpler, more predictable tax code that encourages entrepreneurship, capital investment, and economic growth. Your participation in this survey of AED dealer members will give us the data we need to represent the equipment industry effectively and have the maximum impact on the process in the months ahead.

Please have a copy of your 2015 tax return available when completing this survey. Your responses are confidential and data will only be released in aggregate form. If your company has multiple business units, please answer only for your equipment distribution operations (sales, rental and product support).

If you would prefer to print the survey, complete it by hand, and email, fax, or mail it to AED's Washington office, a PDF version is available here: http://aednet.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/AED-2016TaxSurvey-20160804.pdf.

If you have questions, please contact AED Vice President of Government Affairs Christian Klein at 703.739.9513 or caklein@aednet.org.

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* 1. How is your company taxed?

As a C-corporation

As a pass through entity - LLC, LLP, or other partnership

As a pass through entity - S-corporation

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* 2. If your company is a corporation (taxed as either C or S), how many shareholders do you have? (If not a corporation, please leave blank.)

Total no. of shareholders

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* 3. If your company is a partnership, how many owners does your company have? (If not a partnership, please leave blank.)

Total No. of Owners

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* 4. What were your company’s 2015 gross revenues?

Under $5 million

Between $5 million and $25 million

Between $25 million and $75 million

Between $75 million and $150 million

Between $150 million and $300 million

Between $300 million and $500 million

Between $500 million and $1 billion

More than $1 billion

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* 5. How many employees does your company have?

Total no. of employees

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* 6. How many locations does your company have?

Total no. of locations

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* 7. Does your company participate in a multi-employer retirement plan?

Yes

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* 8. If your company participates in a multi-employer retirement plan (and if known) what is the dollar value of your company's withdrawal liability? (Enter a numeral, but please do not use commas or a dollar sign. If you do not participate in a multi-employer plan or do not know your withdrawal liability, please leave blank.)

Dollar value of multi-employer retirement plan withdrawal liability

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* 9. Does your company have an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP)?

Yes

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* 10. What was your company's effective federal tax rate in 2015? (Please enter percentage as a numeral but do not include a percent sign.)

2015 effective federal tax rate

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* 11. Please estimate – on a percentage basis – the contribution of each of the following revenue streams to your 2015 gross revenues. (Must equal 100.)

New equipment sales

Used equipment sales

Equipment rental

Service/product support

Parts sales

Other

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* 12. How does your company value your parts and machines inventory for tax and book purposes?

FIFO

LIFO

Average cost

Other (please specify)

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* 13. If your company uses LIFO, please estimate the dollar value of your LIFO reserve. If you company does not use LIFO, please leave blank. (Enter a numeral, but do not use commas or include a dollar sign.)

Dollar Amount

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* 14. LIFO users please answer this question. Non-LIFO users, please skip to the next question.

Assume a theoretical tax reform proposal that allowed businesses, going forward, to write off the full amount of their purchases of business assets, including inventory, in the year of purchase (“full first year expensing”). To transition from LIFO to full first year expensing, LIFO taxpayers would be able to fully deduct the basis of their inventory on hand as of the effective date when expensing takes effect. No recapture tax would be imposed on the LIFO reserves accumulated by the businesses during their years on LIFO. If given the choice, would you prefer to operate under such a full first year expensing regime or, alternatively, would you prefer to continue to operate under LIFO as it is now configured?

Full first year expensing

Continue to operate under LIFO as currently configured

No opinion

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* 15. Does your company

	Yes	No
consider rent-to-sell rental units as inventory for book and tax purposes?	consider rent-to-sell rental units as inventory for book and tax purposes? Yes	consider rent-to-sell rental units as inventory for book and tax purposes? No
consider rent-to-rent units as inventory for book and tax purposes?	consider rent-to-rent units as inventory for book and tax purposes? Yes	consider rent-to-rent units as inventory for book and tax purposes? No
consider rental units as inventory and depreciate them for tax purposes?	consider rental units as inventory and depreciate them for tax purposes? Yes	consider rental units as inventory and depreciate them for tax purposes? No

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* 16. Does your company have a like-kind exchange (LKE) program for your rental fleet?

Yes

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* 17. If your company has a like-kind exchange program for your rental fleet, please estimate (in dollars) the value of your LKE deferrals. (Enter a numeral, but please do not use commas or a dollar sign. If your company does not have an LKE program, please leave blank.)

Dollar value of your company's LKE deferrals

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* 18. What were your company’s total 2015 revenues from rental activities? (Enter a numeral, but please do not use commas or a dollar sign.)

2015 rental revenues (in dollars)

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* 19. Please estimate the acquisition cost (dollars) of your depreciable rental fleet (including rent-to-sell units being depreciated) as of December 31, 2015. (Enter a numeral but do not use commas or include a dollar sign.)

Acquisition cost of depreciable rental fleet in dollars

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* 20. Does your company track costs and revenues from rental activity separately from sales activity in its books and records (general ledger, etc.)?

Yes

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* 21. On average, how many times is a piece of equipment in your rental fleet rented prior to being sold?

One time

2 to 3 times

4 to 5 times

6 to 10 times

More than 10 times

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* 22. On average, how long (in months) does a piece of equipment stay in your rental fleet prior to being sold? (Please enter a numeral indicating the number of months)

Average number of months

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* 23. Has your company added equipment to its rental fleet in recent years to take advantage of bonus depreciation?

Yes

Unsure

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* 24. The Affordable Care Act (Obamare) imposed a 3.8 percent tax on passive income. Has your company's rental income been subject to the 3.8 percent passive income tax?

Yes

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* 25. If your company's rental income has been subject to the 3.8 Obamacare tax on passive income, how much (in dollars) did the tax add to your 2015 tax bill? (Enter a numeral but do not use commas or include a dollar sign. If your company's rental income was not subject to the 3.8 percent tax, please leave blank.)

Amount of 2015 tax liability (in dollars) attributable to 3.8 percent Obamacare passive income tax

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* 26. What was your total interest expense deduction (in dollars) in 2015? (Enter a numeral but do not use commas or include a dollar sign.)

2015 interest expense deduction (in dollars)

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* 27. If your company has purchased life insurance for current owners to protect the business from the federal estate tax, please estimate (in dollars) your total premiums paid for estate tax-related life insurance. (Enter a numeral, but please don't use commas or a dollar sign. If your company does not purchase estate tax-related life insurance for owners, please leave blank).

2015 estate tax-related insurance premiums (in dollars)

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* 28. If your company has hired lawyers and accountants to develop an estate plan to protect the business from the federal estate tax, please estimate the total amount (in dollars) that your company has spent in the last three years on these professional services. (Enter a numeral, but please do not use commas or a dollar sign. If your company has not paid for estate tax-related professional services over the past three years, please leave blank.)

Amount (in dollars) spent on lawyers and accountants for estate planning over the past three years

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* 29. Did your company earn income outside the United States in 2015

Yes

If yes, please briefly explain (e.g., type of activity, region, etc.)

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* 30. The House Republicans have proposed a tax reform plan that would replace the current multi-year cost recovery system for business assets with 100 percent expensing (full first year write off). Which system do you believe would best encourage new capital investment?

100 percent expensing

Current business asset cost recovery system

No opinion

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* 31. Please rate the importance of the following tax policies, preferences, and deductions for your company.

	not at all important	somewhat important	important	very important
Depreciation bonus	Depreciation bonus not at all important	Depreciation bonus somewhat important	Depreciation bonus important	Depreciation bonus very important
Sec. 179 expensing	Sec. 179 expensing not at all important	Sec. 179 expensing somewhat important	Sec. 179 expensing important	Sec. 179 expensing very important
Business interest deduction	Business interest deduction not at all important	Business interest deduction somewhat important	Business interest deduction important	Business interest deduction very important
Research and development tax credit	Research and development tax credit not at all important	Research and development tax credit somewhat important	Research and development tax credit important	Research and development tax credit very important
Like-kind exchange	Like-kind exchange not at all important	Like-kind exchange somewhat important	Like-kind exchange important	Like-kind exchange very important
Energy efficient commercial building deduction	Energy efficient commercial building deduction not at all important	Energy efficient commercial building deduction somewhat important	Energy efficient commercial building deduction important	Energy efficient commercial building deduction very important
Charitable contribution deduction	Charitable contribution deduction not at all important	Charitable contribution deduction somewhat important	Charitable contribution deduction important	Charitable contribution deduction very important
Preventing Congress from lengthening the cost recovery period for construction equipment (currently five years)	Preventing Congress from lengthening the cost recovery period for construction equipment (currently five years) not at all important	Preventing Congress from lengthening the cost recovery period for construction equipment (currently five years) somewhat important	Preventing Congress from lengthening the cost recovery period for construction equipment (currently five years) important	Preventing Congress from lengthening the cost recovery period for construction equipment (currently five years) very important
Meals & entertainment expense deduction	Meals & entertainment expense deduction not at all important	Meals & entertainment expense deduction somewhat important	Meals & entertainment expense deduction important	Meals & entertainment expense deduction very important
Home mortgage interest deduction	Home mortgage interest deduction not at all important	Home mortgage interest deduction somewhat important	Home mortgage interest deduction important	Home mortgage interest deduction very important
Identifying new user fees to support federal infrastructure investment	Identifying new user fees to support federal infrastructure investment not at all important	Identifying new user fees to support federal infrastructure investment somewhat important	Identifying new user fees to support federal infrastructure investment important	Identifying new user fees to support federal infrastructure investment very important

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* 32. Please use this space to make any additional comments about tax reform or clarify your responses to any of the questions asked above.

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* 33. While not required, providing your contact information will allow us to contact you should we have questions about your responses and ensure that you do not receive multiple requests to participate in this survey.

Name

Title

Company

E-mail

Telephone