Retailers that sell fuel in Texas may be entitled to a pollution control exemption, which could significantly affect the amount of personal property tax paid to the state. To qualify, a taxpayer must be certified by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The cost of the submission is a one-time fee of $150, which allows certain qualifying assets to be exempt from property tax for all future years. Upon certification from the state, a taxpayer reports the certification number for each of the qualifying assets on the personal property tax return. In Grant Thornton's experience, the average annual tax savings per gas station is $5,000. For example, if a taxpayer has 150 gas stations in Texas, the annual savings for qualifying assets would be $750,000 or $7.5 million over a 10-year period.
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