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Only the people who don’t pay off politicians pay income taxes at Austin Road

Bruce Langos sells 24,751 shares of TDC on 02/10/2012 at an average price of $62.09 a share.

via Feb. 14, 2012 – TERADATA CORP (TDC) COO Bruce Langos sells 24,751 Shares [1].

that’s $1,536,789 in income- or $34,578 in taxes at 2.25%  In 2008 (last date I could quickly find for his compensation) he earned:

Total Compensation $1,242,916.00

via Bruce Langos Profile – Forbes.com [2].

that’s another $27,966 in income tax that he’d have to pay if he was subject to the same income tax that the people who work at Kohl’s next door are subject to under the connived rules created by the JEDD- or “Joint Economic Development District”- in the name of “economic development.”

Put the two together and there goes $62,554 in taxes that could be funding police officers, water treatment plants, regional dispatch centers. The income taxes being skipped by excluding just one person in Teradata are greater than the average total wages of all those “jobs” we created at Kohl’s, Menards, Walmart and other major corporations who have been subsidized by this boondoggle of massive proportions at Austin Landing.

boundaries recently set in the Austin Landing district exclude workers like RG Properties President Randy Gunlock who works from one of the office buildings excluded from the district and lives in nearby Clearcreek Twp. The district also excludes office workers living in the development’s residential village, but construction workers are to be taxed.

(James Durham, a law professor at University of Dayton) Durham acknowledged excluding RG itself and other tenants, such as Teradata, failed to capitalize on taxation of the higher wages earned and larger staffs working in the office buildings.

“On the whole, they are going to be paid more. It’s certainly imperfect,” he said.

via Townships use economic development district funds to spur growth [3].

Teradata was part of NCR- and those jobs were in Dayton, with employees paying the 2.25% income tax. The company was spun off- and despite having revenues in the billions [4], the residents of Montgomery County have subsidized this company’s moves not just once, but twice in the last 5 years. Moving them first to a custom built HQ (Oberer Companies)  in Miami Township and then moving them half a mile down the road to a new one, constructed by RG Properties.

I’m not picking on Bruce only, his whole company is benefiting, but Bruce was also the Chair of the Dayton Development Coalition which advocates for corporate welfare instead of the health of the community. It’s also easier to find his compensation.

Another tenant of the 1% tax free while the 99% pay tax zone, is the law firm of Thompson Hine. They too used to be in downtown Dayton and paid the 2.25% income tax. They left for the shiny new oasis of Austin Road- leaving their offices in the former Mead Tower and helping force that building into financial straights. This triggered Key Bank to move across the street, abandoning their building which sold for $500K to a mysterious guru who calls himself “Commander.” [5]

Thompson Hine’s lawyers won’t have to pay income tax either, thanks to the “all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others” rule that somehow snuck on the books. Of course, the lawyers of Thompson Hine pay a different tax- the “campaign tax” as I call it- handing out huge donations to federal candidates.

Top Contributor to Member (5 results)

  • Thompson Hine LLP to Jean Schmidt (R) in 2012
  • Thompson Hine LLP to Rob Portman (R) in 2012
  • Thompson Hine LLP to Sherrod Brown (D) in 2012
  • Thompson Hine LLP to Albert R. Wynn (D) in 2004
  • Thompson Hine LLP to Steve Chabot (R) in 2004

Top Contributor to Candidate (4 results)

  • Thompson Hine LLP to Ohio District 10 candidates in 2012
  • Thompson Hine LLP to Ohio Senate candidates in 2012
  • Thompson Hine LLP to Ohio Senate candidates in 2010
  • Thompson Hine LLP to Ohio District 7 candidates in 2008

via OpenSecrets.org Search [6].

So if you have money to donate to political candidates you get a hall pass on income taxes? Note, OH-10 democratic candidate Sharen Neuhardt is one of the Thompson Hine lawyers who won’t be paying a Montgomery County income tax- and she’s also a prime recipient of donations from her firm.

Of course, Austin Landing is the pet project of local developer Randy Gunlock who is also not going to have to pay income taxes in his new development. His company, RG Properties is also excluded. Randy does OK for himself and is a top donor as well to political campaigns giving tens of thousands of dollars between him, his wife, his kids- to candidates like Congressman Mike Turner and the Republican National Committee. When you’ve got an indoor full size hockey rink in your backyard, complete with a Zamboni, the idea of having to pay income taxes like a checkout person at Kohl’s must be really repulsive.

His home, a 5 bedroom, 15,879 sq feet, is appraised at just under $2 million.His annual property tax bill is $30,000 [7] of about what someone working at Kohl’s makes. He pays no income tax, they pay 2.25%

The taxpayers have poured over $150 million into the interchange and improvements at Austin Road, the residents of Miami Township have gotten stuck for the airfare on Randy’s private jet when he flew two trustees up to Michigan to look at a hockey arena [8]. The Township residents have already been hit up for $24 million to help finance Mr. Gunlock’s private tax haven for the wealthy by being asked to float bonds, apply for development grants and transportation tax dollars. All so that the wealthy can work in brand new office buildings and pay Mr. Gunlock rent- while getting to evade income taxes that were supporting existing infrastructure in Dayton. Recently another million dollar cost overrun was paid without investigation. [9]

This is the giant sucking sound of the lifeblood of Dayton’s core. The saddest thing is it’s being financed by the very people who can least afford it, and have the least influence in changing political outcomes, the working poor.

Of course, the county officials are talking out of both sides of their mouths- the original reason for all this investment according to another article claiming the development is worth $400 million was to generate income taxes:

“We’ve got our flag in the ground,” said Steve Stanley, executive director of the Montgomery County Transportation Improvement District, the entity which helped fund the interchange, roads and other infrastructure underlying the development.

Income taxes from employees working in the area will go to the county, Miamisburg, Miami Twp. and Springboro. Sales tax will go the county.

“Sales tax is one piece. Income tax is another piece. The idea is to bring income tax from outside the region into this area,” said Todd Duplain, director of development for Mills Development.

via Austin development part of over $400M in projects off interchange [10].

We just didn’t know at the time that the richest incomes wouldn’t be contributing.

 

 

 

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Greg Hunter

C’mon David the whole town/county is sickening and crass.  The big guns will get theirs and everyone else nothing and really, we deserve it.  While the DDN is doing better about reporting issues and fraud, they will not poke any holes in Austin Road.  The have deservedly taken down Oakes and Higgins as with those two, just like Soin (Turner’s Owner) it was always to good to be true.  Yes I agree that Soin and Feldman should be taken down but they won’t as they have too good of cover even with the new and improved DDN.  Besides the DDN is taking down developments that negatively impact Austin Road and nothing else. (Geez, that land and big printing facility cant have anything to do with it? Could it?)

 Jesus….out of one side of their mouth the power players in the County (Tuss and Feldman)  want to consolidate services and streamline government and then they go and create all kinds of funky tax districts to tax the poor for the benefit of the desk jockeys at Austin Road.  I do not even consider the Commissioners as a Political Force as they vote on BS, but when the BS needs to be thrown the Feldman/Tuss machine speaks.  The 1% looking out for the 1%, nothing new under the sun, but usually fails in the long run.

Give up the fight, make money and invest in cheap downtown real estate.  With rising gas prices Dayton is a steal for urban density near Transit Oriented Development.  
 

Ryan

Good post.  At what point will the public as a whole actually get sick of the constant bullsh**?  I read this and ask myself what will it take for real change?  Will it ever happen?  Truth is, elections have consequences and I guess we haven’t reached the tipping point yet.  

Bubba Jones

Has the tax structure under the Austin Landing JEDD already been voted on and finalized?  If not, go to the Miami Township Trustees meetings and make your voices heard.  Often at these types of meetings they limit the voices of non-residents but since this is an issue that affects the entire region, non-Miami Township residents should show up and let those in charge know just what you think of it.

And, David E – I understand that the point of this post is to bring the unfairness of the proposed taxing arrangement to the forefront, but your opening paragraphs are misleading as to the amount of tax that would have been collected on proceeds of Bruce Langos’ stock sale.  First, the entire proceeds ($1,536,790) would not have been subject to tax since you would have to deduct his basis in the stock (ie – how much he paid for it) in order to arrive at the taxable gain (or loss if he sold it for less than he paid for it).  Even if he received the stock sold as stock options as part of his compensation package, he would have paid income tax (Local, if applicable – as well as State and Federal income tax) on the value of the stock options.  Second, even if “white collar earnings” were subject to the JEDD income tax, the capital gains from the sale of his stock would have been exempt.  From the City of Centerville web site

Q: Why doesn’t the city tax interest income?
A: Per the Ohio Revised Code, municipalities in Ohio are prevented from taxing most types of intangible income including interest, dividends and capital gains. 
 
This would be applicable to the JEDD as well since they “partner” with a municipality (not Centerville, but that’s irrelevant) with taxing authority in order to collect the taxes within the JEDD. 

bobby

 The “public amenity” parking stucture for this project was finananced with Recovery Zone Economic Development Bonds. The Montgomery County Commissioners, generously, made a portion of their bond allocation available for this project.
  Recovery Zone Economic Development Bonds, part of the Obama simulus package, are a special category of “Build America Bonds” that carry an annual income tax credit of 45% of the interest paid on the bonds. An investor in a Recovery Zone Economic Development Bond will pay income taxes on the interest that the financing earns. The local government will retain for itself the federal income tax credit on Recovery Zone Economic Development that it enters into. A local government will receive the amount of the credit semi-annually as cash from the federal treasury. The cash refund will offset 45% of interest the local government pays.
  Taxpayers may want to express their displeasure to the Miami Twp. Trustees AND Montgomery County Commission about the use federal subsidies for this “project that keeps on taking”. Once these federally subsidized bond are paid, the “public amenity” parking garage becomes the property of the developer, and unless there is a sunset provision for the income tax, the tax will continue……Shameless.  
          
   

Steve V.

I don’t blame Bruce for cashing out. Hadoop is going to at best hurt their margins and at worst turn them into the next Nokia…

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