9 Comments

Check out the financing of car washes.There’s a big up front expenditure on equipment that is then rapidly depreciated. It’s not that more cars need washing—it’s the tax code that has promoted this.

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Hey, Bob. Interesting. What role does the tax code play?

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If you ever want to hear local perspectives on the YIMBY movement from the first official YIMBY Action chapter established in the state of Arizona (or to talk zoning reform, public transit funding, parking maximums, infill, housing policy, etc etc) email Tucson for Everyone at info@TucsonForEveryone.org!

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From a Bloomberg News article:

Plus, the tax reforms enacted in 2017 by former president Donald Trump allowed car wash owners to claim 100% depreciation on new equipment — a generous subsidy to further investment. While that incentive was written to shrink over time, the tax proposal currently in Congress would restore the 100% depreciation allowance.

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I found the same thing. That's going to put an interesting local spin on the debate in Congress.

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Didn’t the city give Mister Carwash a GPLET and/or a new headquarters building a few years ago?

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I’m not a tax accountant, but I seem to remember something in DJT’s first tax cut package that allowed (promoted?) these types of big investment/quick write-off arrangements.

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From what I can see, it looks like the Trump administration tax cuts allowed business owners to claim 100% depreciation in their first year, compared to 20% before the cuts. A news story out of Jacksonville, Florida says that's what attracted private equity firms and led to the boom in car washes there.

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That’s it. It’s a national phenomenon, not limited to Tucson. It’s a good example of “trickle-down” policy that the average citizen doesn’t care about until it reaches a neighborhood level zoning decision. (And I write this as a former city planner).

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