Construction Blog

In traditional baseball arbitration, one side claims they should be paid one amount, while the other side insists that amount should be different. Both try to prove their case before an arbitrator who will ultimately choose one of the two numbers — nothing higher, lower or in between. Outside of the baseball context, this process may have other names, such as pendulum arbitration. There’s another version known as night, or midnight, baseball arbitration, which features the same process but neither party shows the arbitrator their proposals until after a decision has been made. The winner is the side with a proposal closer to the arbitrator’s number.

Given the negative impact on development that a new tax the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017 placed on contributed utility infrastructure, the staff of the Missouri Public Service Commission is holding a workshop to address the tax, on July 19th, starting at 10 a.m. at Room 450 in the Governor's Office Building, 200 Madison Street, Jefferson City, MO 65102. It is important that all aspects of the development and building industry in Missouri be represented. Developers, builders, contractors, and subcontractors are encouraged to attend.

The Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017 has placed a tax on the utility infrastructure that you either install and contribute to investor owned utilities that serve your developments (known as contributions in aid of construction or CIAC) or the cash you pay to the investor owned utility to install that infrastructure (known as advances). Some utilities, in Missouri, are asking the developer to reimburse the utility for the tax, at the time the contribution of facilities or cash is made.