Archive for category: General Information

Last month, you may recall I discussed the power of AI in the workplace and the seminars David Sukenik from our office was attending. As a result of the four courses he virtually participated in, we are now subscribers of ChatGPT4. Many thanks to Dean Bezdek and Centriq Group, LLC for setting up this course. (To learn more about Centriq Group, LLC and their offerings, please visit their website.)

Speaking of Technology…

We recently upgraded our copier and I was playing around with all the new, fancy features. While standing at the copier, I discussed ChatGPT4 with David and what my blog this month would sound like if it was created by ChatGPT – take a read 😊

CinemaCon 2024: Insights and Trends from the Heart of Las Vegas – A Property Tax Perspective

Last week, I had the privilege of attending CinemaCon 2024, held at the iconic Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. This pivotal event in the cinema industry is not just a gathering for film aficionados but also a critical touchpoint for professionals like myself who specialize in property tax issues related to cinema properties. Joined by my good friend Mike Hagan, CFO of B&B Theaters, we sought to deepen our connections with cinema owners and gain insights into the future of the industry, crucial for our property tax advocacy efforts.

Leveraging Connections for Enhanced Property Tax Solutions

Our longstanding relationship with B&B Theaters, for whom we have conducted numerous property tax appeals, positioned us uniquely to engage with other industry stakeholders. CinemaCon offers an invaluable platform for sharing experiences and challenges related to property tax management within the cinema industry. The discussions we had were insightful, highlighting shared concerns and innovative solutions that can be applied across various jurisdictions.

Impact of Industry Trends on Property Valuations

Several key trends identified at CinemaCon have direct implications for property tax considerations:

1. Technological Upgrades: As cinemas invest in advanced technologies like laser projectors and state-of-the-art sound systems, the valuation of these properties becomes more complex. These enhancements can increase a property’s assessed value, necessitating astute tax strategies to manage potential increases in property tax obligations.
2. Reimagining Spaces: The shift towards providing luxurious seating and comprehensive amenities requires significant capital investment. These improvements can affect property assessments and, consequently, property taxes. Understanding these changes is essential for accurately appealing tax valuations and ensuring fairness in taxation.
3. Diversity in Content and Format: The trend towards offering a wider array of content, including live events and special screenings, can alter a theater’s revenue streams and impact its financial valuation. This diversification, while beneficial for attracting a broader audience, also adds layers of complexity to the valuation process for tax purposes.

The Future Outlook from a Tax Perspective

The optimism about the future of the movie industry, despite competition from streaming platforms, suggests a robust potential for continued investment in cinema properties. This growth outlook necessitates ongoing vigilance in property tax management to ensure that assessments are fair and reflective of true market values. It’s an exciting time for those of us in property tax services, as we align our strategies to support our clients through these evolving challenges.

Conclusion

Attending CinemaCon 2024 provided us not only with insights into the trends shaping the movie theater industry but also reinforced the importance of our work in property tax services. For clients like B&B Theaters and others in the cinema space, staying ahead of these trends means better preparing for the future financial landscapes and tax obligations. The insights garnered from this event will directly enhance our ability to advise and represent our clients effectively.

As the industry continues to evolve, so too will the strategies needed to manage property tax implications.  We look forward to using these insights to assist our clients in navigating the exciting future of the movie theater industry.

WOW, right????

While this is not necessarily the wording I would traditionally use in my blog, I thought I would provide an unedited version generated in literally, seconds.

So, how do we embrace this technology to our benefit? Stay tuned as you will have to determine if this is me OR if this is AI going forward.
HINT: Betting money says ME.

As always, I appreciate your feedback and comments.  or .

Railroad Equipment Finance Conference

Last year, Noelle Giacomino and I attended our first Railroad Equipment Finance conference.  As I noted last year, I was pleasantly surprised by the number of existing clients attending the conference and our chance to interact with many of them face to face. We will again be attending the conference and hopefully, we will not be making the “rookie” mistakes in our second year.

What sort of rookie mistakes could one make??? When attending a conference, I have learned it is always a good idea to review the attendee listing as far in advance as possible. This allows us to reach out to our clients or prospects; let them know we will be there and try to establish a plan to connect at the social events each evening or meet for lunch or dinner if possible.

Many we met last year had already committed to several evenings and with a little planning, we could have made better use of our evenings as well. It was still a great conference and we connected with many, but our hope this year is to make the event even better for connecting with friends, clients and prospects.

International Association of Defense Counsel Conference

This has been particularly true as I attend my wife’s Mid-Year Conference for the IADC (International Association of Defense Counsel). We have been attending this conference on and off for the past 20 years. When we review the listing of attendees and participate in the planned dinners and social networking events, it is always great to see familiar faces and catch up on life’s activities.

One can never underestimate the effect these social aspects have on your professional life. Being a spouse at these events has allowed me to meet legal counsel from all over the country; several of which I have engaged over the years to assist in significant property tax appeals. Having local legal counsel has, in most cases, defined our success with our clients.

Enough of the socializing – there is work to do!

Johnson County, KS released their 2024 valuations for commercial property with an appeal deadline of March 13th. Many values have remained flat or decreased slightly from the 2023 tax year. The question for many is whether this is accurately representing the marketplace. Many industries are still suffering from high vacancy issues and possible repurposing of the property.

How does this affect market value? It is a worthy question, but it is difficult to justify the current valuation in many cases.

We are knee deep in assisting/filing of business personal property declaration in many states, starting with MI filings due by February 20th to AR filings due at the end of May. Additionally, we are receiving our data for our annual railcar property tax filings and business will be at a peak from now until May 15th.

Let’s not forget what is truly important –

Finally, I want to take this opportunity to express my sincere sympathies to the victims of the senseless violence in the midst of a wonderful Kansas City celebration for the Chiefs Super Bowl victory. If you are inclined and wish to donate, please consider the following funds to support the families by visiting the following GoFundMe link:

https://www.gofundme.com/c/act/kansas-city-parade-help

Thank you for your continued support of Swartz and Indurante – let’s help support those in need.

As always, you can reach me at dswartz@swartzaai.com or dswartz@indurantetax.com. Thank you for reading! I would love to hear from you in the comments.

By Donald Swartz, President

Well… we made it! This blog represents my 100^th posting since becoming convinced to share anecdotes with you eight plus years ago by my friend and LinkedIn training wizard, Jason Terry. It took me a little over one year since the start of Swartz & Associates to dip my toes in the “blogging waters” but I am so pleased I’ve made the effort to share successes, thoughts, physical struggles, COVID struggles, road trips, adventures, and anything else to let you peek into a little of my life.

What a journey and what a joy!

I hope to continue to share my thoughts with you in the coming years and know when I think I need to “zig”, I will probably do a little bit of “zag”; when I become a little too business centric, time for a personal story; when I share successes, I will be cognizant of the challenges we continually face. Most importantly, I want you to read our stories because you enjoy the content and find them meaningful to you in some way. I am very appreciative of your comments and responses and have attempted to be informative (and a little entertaining??) these past years.

End of Year

As we wind down the year, I want to thank our clients for continually letting us represent your interests in the property tax world. Whether it is commercial real estate, business equipment or private railcars, I am constantly reminded how great my respective team members are in providing excellent service for you. The staff of Indurante and Swartz are unmatched in the level of experience, professionalism, and dedication to your holdings, and I take great pleasure in seeing them be successful.

2023 has been a tremendous year for both entities, and with the pipeline filling with ongoing appeals and new clients slated to come on board in 2024, I am very excited to share more successes (fingers crossed) throughout the year.

We can always be better

As they say, if you are not moving forward, you are moving backward. I will continue to strategically look at the big picture to determine what technology components can enhance our services. Will our employee base continue to grow, and will we expand into additional markets??? If the right opportunity presents itself, we cannot be afraid to explore options.

Adding David Swartz to the group was a strategic development that has paid off handsomely for us and our clients.  Adding Micah Niimoto to our Indurante team full time has given our employees a fresh way to look at the way we prepare and analyze.

Are there risks? Absolutely, but I would like to think they are calculated, and when weighing risk vs. reward, I would not hesitate to do the same again and again.

Happy holidays and Happy New Year to everyone!

We look forward to an outstanding 2024 and, as always, if you are interested in learning more about us, please reach out to me ( / ) or any of staff. We are here to help!

By Donald Swartz, President

On September 17^th, I will be celebrating the 5-year anniversary of the acquisition of Indurante & Associates, Inc. It’s truly incredible to believe it was almost seven years ago when I met with Pete Indurante to learn about his business and the potential compliment it would provide to the work Swartz & Associates, Inc. performs.

While change is always a little difficult, I believe the transition has been as smooth and seamless as I could have possibly hoped. Our core employee group of Noelle Giacomino, Kristen Canfield, Mark Philips and Emma Danielian remain with the company today, and it is truly their professionalism and dedication to the company that have made this what it is today.

That’s not to say the Indurante & Associates transition has not had its hiccups along the way…

Transitioning from a very simplistic paper system to becoming a virtually paperless company was a significant task. We’ve created a proprietary software program called Railmarx to further enhance our position as the recognized leader of property tax services to the railcar industry. (And there was the little car accident incident while taking an Uber to the office.)

These “highlights” have all had a significant impact on the development of Indurante. From the acquisition in 2018, to where it stands and competes today. Our client base has increased, our staff count has increased and the number of filings annually prepared has increased since the acquisition. Things are only looking brighter as we hope to secure two large fleets for the 2024 tax year and we will continue to enhance our Railmarx software to keep us executing in an efficient manner for our clients.

A big THANK YOU to everyone who has been a part of the Indurante journey – all my employees with Swartz and Indurante; our clients and the respective State departments we work with to ensure accuracy and timeliness. Your input has been invaluable as I continue to learn.

The Work Continues at Swartz & Associates

Let us not forget about our Swartz appeals in progress in IA, KS, MO, CO, PA and FL (to name a few of the states in which we operate.) This has been the busiest year on record for the number of properties reviewed, number of appeals filed and tax savings generated for our clients owning commercial/industrial real estate. Our business personal property compliance practice has increased as well. Gary Stone’s practice of independent fee appraisals for Machinery and Equipment continues to expand. I’m getting dizzy just writing about all these activities!

We will continue to serve and represent our clients in the manner they have learned to expect, and we look forward to a strong finish to 2023 and an active 2024 review.

As always, I am so appreciative of your business and the feedback you provide.
You can contact me at or .

By Donald Swartz, President

This past weekend,  my wife and attended a wedding in Winter Park, CO. During the brief time we were in the mountains, we were subjected to rain, snow, sunshine, wind, significant temperature swings and the all important tire pressure change from 40 lbs to 23 lbs in a matter of hours!

I mention these aspects because we knew these various possibilities may exist (okay – maybe the tire gauge pressure threw me for a loop????) and we were able to adapt to the current situations. Winds on the mountain summit for the ceremony? No problem, winter jackets in tow. Rain and snow as we strolled the area? Good thing we had our umbrellas. Sunscreen, lip balm, sunglasses, sweatshirts??? BINGO!

So, what does this have to do with Swartz and Indurante?

Actually, there are many parallels. States moving from paper filings to electronic filings; appeal deadlines seemingly occurring every week whether they are county deadlines or deadlines to appeal decisions further to State Boards or Commissions; long tenured clients expanding their existing portfolios for us to review; and expanding our services to include residential reviews this year based upon 30-100% increases in their residential valuations.

The issues facing us in 2023 are unlike any we have seen in the past 15 years, but the underlying theme remains the same – we must have adaptability.

I am fortunate to have employees who have been with the two companies for several years and have the experience necessary to roll with variables and handle them swiftly and efficiently. Hopefully our clients view us as a duck on a pond. They have the confidence in our abilities to get their filings done accurately, ensure appeals are filed on time and most importantly, that we can deliver quality results, ultimately measured by minimizing their respective property tax liabilities. Our clients see this duck gliding smoothly on the water.

Underneath, I have the pleasure of watching the webbed feet churn – and churn we do! Constantly adapting to the present situations and deriving solutions to our client’s needs.

The days are going to continue to race by as more deadlines approach. Rain or shine, we will be there to help!

Please contact us if you are concerned about any upcoming deadlines or how we can assist you and/or your company in the minimization of property tax valuations.  As always, please email me at or

Have a great summer.  We look forward to representing your interests.