Marcum's 2023 Northeast Ohio Construction Survey

20 THE 2023 MARCUM NORTHEAST OHIO CONSTRUCTION SURVEY

Governmental Issues

Politics was on the minds of many respondents, with several citing governmental policies as a contributing cause to the labor shortage. Others pointed to a generally slowing economy, and many citing broad worry if not discontentment with the direction of the country, with one noting, “The uncertainty of the current political and economic climate (domestic and abroad) and the direction of

the current administration are threatening future projects.” The struggle with material prices carried over into the political aspect of the survey, with material price volatility keeping its top spot among construction company executives when it comes to the impact of political issues on their businesses. The costs of healthcare and insurance again ranked second, and income taxes remained third. Though taxes are consistently an area of concern and frustration, even fewer respondents (11%) said they were leveraging the federal Research and Development tax credit, declining versus the 20%

reported in the prior year. And 75% had not explored using the credit, up from 63% last year. Be sure you are not leaving money on the table by working with a talented tax advisor. Whether you

choose Marcum or another tax advisory service, ensure they understand construction and how to overcome tax issues while positioning your company for growth. The low rate of usage of the R&D tax credit suggests that many respondents are missing multiple tax-reduction opportunities. Availability of credit ranked fourth, rising from seventh in 2022, making it the biggest mover in terms of impact. Given the tightening of credit markets, this upswing makes sense.