In: Finance
Wendy’s boss wants to use straight-line depreciation for the new expansion project because he said it will give higher net income in earlier years and give him a larger bonus. The project will last 4 years and requires $1,700,000 of equipment. The company could use either straight line or the 3-year MACRS accelerated method. Under straight-line depreciation, the cost of the equipment would be depreciated evenly over its 4-year life. (Ignore the half-year convention for the straight-line method.) The applicable MACRS depreciation rates are 33.33%, 44.45%, 14.81%, and 7.41%, as discussed in Appendix 11A. The project cost of capital is 10%, and its tax rate is 25%.
PLEASE SHOW YOUR WORK AND FORMULAS
a.What would the depreciation expense be each year under each method?
b.Which depreciation method would produce the higher NPV, and how much higher would it be?
c.Why might Wendy’s boss prefer straight-line depreciation?
Question a: | ||||||
Calculation of Depreciation Expense | ||||||
Year | Depreciation Base | Depreciation Rates | MACRS Depreciation | Straight line Depreciation | ||
A | B | C | D = B*C | E = B*25% | ||
1 | 1700000 | 33.33% | 566610 | 425000 | ||
2 | 1700000 | 44.45% | 755650 | 425000 | ||
3 | 1700000 | 14.81% | 251770 | 425000 | ||
4 | 1700000 | 7.41% | 125970 | 425000 | ||
Question b: | ||||||
Present Value of Depreciaiton Tax shileld | ||||||
MACRS Method | ||||||
Year | Depreciation | Tax Shield | Discount Factor @10% | Discounted Cash Flows | ||
A | B | C = B*25% | D=1/(1+10%)^A | E = C*D | ||
1 | 566610 | 141652.5 | 0.909090909 | 128775.00 | ||
2 | 755650 | 188912.5 | 0.826446281 | 156126.0331 | ||
3 | 251770 | 62942.5 | 0.751314801 | 47289.63186 | ||
4 | 125970 | 31492.5 | 0.683013455 | 21509.80124 | ||
PV | 353700.47 | |||||
Straight Line Method | ||||||
Year | Depreciation | Tax Shield | Discount Factor @10% | Discounted Cash Flows | ||
A | B | C = B*25% | D=1/(1+10%)^A | E = C*D | ||
1 | 425000 | 106250 | 0.909090909 | 96590.91 | ||
2 | 425000 | 106250 | 0.826446281 | 87809.91736 | ||
3 | 425000 | 106250 | 0.751314801 | 79827.1976 | ||
4 | 425000 | 106250 | 0.683013455 | 72570.17963 | ||
PV | 336798.20 | |||||
MACRS method provides higher NPV than Straight line Depreciation | ||||||
Difference in NPV = PV of MACRS Method tax shield - PV of Straight Line Method tax shield | ||||||
= $353,700.47 - $336,798.20 | ||||||
= $16,902.26 | ||||||
Thereforem it will increase NPV by $16,902.26 | ||||||
Question c: | ||||||
Straight line method is easy to calculate and will have less errors |