Valley Independent Sentinel

Seymour Wants To Offer Tax Breaks For Businesses

by Jodie Mozdzer Gil | Feb 20, 2012 9:44 pm

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Posted to: Seymour

Seymour leaders are reviewing a plan to give tax breaks to new or growing businesses in town.

The proposal, if approved, could see some large businesses paying no taxes for up to seven years.

A Tax Incentive Committee presented a draft policy on Feb. 7 to the Board of Selectmen. The board plans to review the proposal and discuss it at its next meeting on Feb. 21.

“We’re excited about it. We think it’s long overdue,” said John Conroy, a former selectman who is the chairman of the Tax Incentive Committee.

The plan would allow Seymour leaders to offer tax breaks for different types of businesses — including retail, restaurants, marinas, and even assisted living facilities.

Specifics

The level of tax break would be based on the amount of money the business is investing in town and the details of the project. The Board of Selectmen would have the final say on whether to offer the tax break, and if so, for what amount.

Some examples of how it could work:

• A business investing more than $3 million could see 60 to 100 percent of its property tax bill waived for up to seven years.

• Businesses investing $1.5 to $3 million could see tax breaks of 75 to 100 percent for a shorter time frame: two years.

• For investments of $500,000 to $1.5 million, the tax abatement level can be 50 to 75 percent for two years.

• A business investing $50,000 — the lowest amount allowed under the plan — could see tax breaks of 30 to 50 percent for three years.

The Board of Selectmen can also, under the proposal, waive building permit and application fees to help attract businesses to Seymour.

If a business is approved for the tax breaks, they must start work on their project within six months and finish it within two years in order to get the benefit, according to the draft policy.

Wider Approach

Seymour used to give out tax breaks for manufacturing businesses, but the program hasn’t been used in several years, Conroy said.

This new proposal — which hasn’t been approved yet — would expand the types of businesses that could receive benefits.

Among the types of business allowed under the proposed policy:

• manufacturing
• retail
• commercial office
• information technology
• research and development
• restaurants
• family entertainment
• recreation
• commercial marina and waterfront development
• hospitality
• assisted living
• warehouse distribution
• storage

The proposal could help long-vacant properties such as Tri-Town Plaza, if if the owners decide to invest money in upgrading the building in order to attract new retail to the site.

Seymour’s Economic Development Director Fred A. Messore said he’s excited to have a new tool to try to attract new business to town.

“The town of Seymour has to be as competitive as we could be to try to attract business,” Messore said. “And this gives us that ability.”

Work In Progress

Seymour has been working on the proposal since last summer. The current Tax Incentive Committee formed in December 2011 and picked up the process where a previous group from the Seymour Board of Selectmen had left off.

Conroy said the committee looked at what other towns offer in terms of tax breaks for businesses.

Towns such as Newtown and Oxford have similar programs in place.

But neighboring towns of Ansonia, Derby, and Shelton don’t, Conroy said.

So if a business is looking to locate along Route 8, “this may be the thing that tips (businesses) into Seymour,” Conroy said.

The town’s economic development commission is also reviewing the plan.

The proposal is posted below.

Seymour Tax Incentive Proposal

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