Question

Washington County’s Board of Representatives is considering the construction of a longer runway at the county airport. Currently, the airport can handle only private aircraft and small commuter jets. A new, long runway would enable the airport to handle the midsize jets used on many domestic flights. Data pertinent to the board’s decision appear below.

Cost of acquiring additional land for runway $ 63,000

Cost of runway construction 305,000

Cost of extending perimeter fence 19,880

Cost of runway lights 32,000

Annual cost of maintaining new runway 16,000

Annual incremental revenue from landing fees 25,000

In addition to the preceding data, two other facts are relevant to the decision. First, a longer runway will require a new snowplow, which will cost $115,000. The old snowplow could be sold now for $11,500. The new, larger plow will cost $7,000 more in annual operating costs. Second, the County Board of Representatives believes that the proposed long runway, and the major jet service it will bring to the county, will increase economic activity in the community. The board projects that the increased economic activity will result in $76,000 per year in additional tax revenue for the county. In analyzing the runway proposal, the board has decided to use a 10-year time horizon. The county’s hurdle rate for capital projects is 12 percent. Use Appendix A for your reference. (Use appropriate factor(s) from the tables provided.) Problem 16-47 Internal Rate of Return; Sensitivity Analysis (Section 1) (LO 16-1, 16-3) In analyzing the runway proposal, the board has decided to use a 10-year time horizon. The county’s hurdle rate for capital projects is 12 percent. The County Board of Representatives believes that if the county conducts a promotional effort costing $30,500 per year, the proposed long runway will result in substantially greater economic development than was projected originally. However, the board is uncertain about the actual increase in county tax revenue that will result. Required: Suppose the board builds the long runway and conducts the promotional campaign. What would the increase in the county’s annual tax revenue need to be in order for the proposed runway’s internal rate of return to equal the county’s hurdle rate of 12 percent? (Round your intermediate calculations and final answer to the nearest whole dollar.)

How do you figure out the required increase in tax revenue?

Answer 1