To someone who does not value tools

In most countries/states/counties (sometimes all three!), you'll have
to pay property tax on the value of business tools. If you're "dealing"
in used tools there's a subcategory for inventory tax. Depreciation
figures into the value for property/inventory tax, but it still often
hurts to have anything for more than a year. (See the other messages
in this thread about the "instant" $20000 depreciation for certain
capital purchases if you aren't doing this big-time!) There are
certain liberties that scrap dealers often take when they buy a buncha
junk for little and then pick a couple things which they refurbish and
sell for big bucks - they almost certainly didn't pay property tax on
their selling price, but only on their purchase price - but accounting
methods come into play if you want to do this.

Tim.