Reference no: EM132203817

Question: Based on the details provided below, what will be the value of the plant and equipment for tax purposes in year six? Will it be sold for a gain or a loss, and what will the tax effect be?

Details of McCormick Plant Proposal

McCormick & Company is considering a project that requires an initial investment of $24 million to build a new plant and purchase equipment. The investment will be depreciated as a modified accelerated cost recovery system (MACRS) seven-year class asset. The new plant will be built on some of the company's land, which has a current, after-tax market value of $4.3 million.

The company will produce bulk units at a cost of $130 each and will sell them for $420 each. There are annual fixed costs of $500 thousand. Unit sales are expected to be 150,000 each year for the next six years, at which time the project will be abandoned. At that time, the plant and equipment is expected to be worth $8 million (before tax) and the land is expected to be worth $5.4 million (after tax). 

To supplement the production process, the company will need to purchase $1 million worth of inventory. That inventory will be depleted during the final year of the project. The company has $100 million of debt outstanding with a yield to maturity of 8 percent, and has $150 million of equity outstanding with a beta of 0.9. The expected market return is 13 percent, and the risk-free rate is 5 percent. The company's marginal tax rate is 40 percent.