Ordinance defines ‘new’ and ‘expanding’ business, as well as application process

County Ordinance No. 2009-08 states: “The board of county commissioners shall have the sole and absolute authority and discretion, as provided by law, to grant or deny economic development ad valorem tax exemptions pursuant to this article.”

Excerpts include: “The following businesses are eligible for consideration of the economic development ad valorem tax exemption pursuant to this article:

(1)  New businesses, which shall mean:

a.  A business establishing 10 or more quality jobs to employ 10 or more full-time employees in Taylor County, which manufactures, processes, compounds, fabricates, or produces for sale items of tangible personal property at a fixed location and which comprises an industrial or manufacturing plant; or

b.  A business establishing 25 or more quality jobs to employ 25 or more full-time employees in Taylor County, the sales factor of which, as defined by F.S. § 220.15(5), for the facility with respect to which it requests an economic development ad valorem tax exemption is less than 0.50 for each year the exemption is claimed; or

c. An office space in Taylor County owned and used by a business newly domiciled in Taylor County; provided such office space houses 50 or more full-time employees of such business; provided that such business or office first begins operation on a site clearly separate from any other commercial or industrial operation owned by the same business.

d. Any business located in an enterprise zone that first begins operation on a site clearly separate from any other commercial or industrial operation owned by the same business.

(2) Expansion of an existing business, which shall mean:

a. A business establishing 10 or more quality jobs to employ 10 or more full-time employees in Taylor County, which manufactures, processes, compounds, fabricates, or produces for sale items of tangible personal property at a fixed location and which comprises an industrial or manufacturing plant; or

b. A business establishing 25 or more quality jobs to employ 25 or more full-time employees in Taylor County, the sales factor of which, as defined by F.S. § 220.15(5), for the facility with respect to which it requests an economic development ad valorem tax exemption is less than 0.50 for each year the exemption is claimed; provided that such business increases operations on a site collocated with a commercial or industrial operation owned by the same business, resulting in a net increase in employment of not less than ten percent or an increase in productive output of not less than ten percent.

c.  Any business located in an enterprise zone that increases operations on a site collocated with a commercial or industrial operation owned by the same business.”

The ordinance states: “(a) the economic development ad valorem tax exemption is a local, optional tax incentive for new and expanding businesses which may be granted or denied at the sole discretion of the commission.”

“(b)  Effective date. The exemptions shall not accrue to improvements to real property made by or for the use of new or expanding businesses when such improvements have been on the tax rolls prior to the effective date the specific ordinance granting the ad valorem tax exemptions to the business.

(c) Maximum exemption. The commission, at its discretion, may exempt from ad valorem taxation up to 100 percent of the assessed value of all improvements to real property made by or for the use of a new business of all tangible personal property of such new business, or up to 100 percent of the assessed value of all added improvements to real property made to facilitate the expansion of an existing business and of the net increase in all tangible personal property acquired to facilitate such expansion of an existing business.

(d)  Replacement of property. Property acquired to replace existing property shall not be considered to facilitate a business expansion and therefore, such replacement property, shall not be exempt from ad valorem taxation.

(e)  Time period. Any such exemption granted under this article shall remain in: effect for up to 10 years from the date of adoption of the ordinance granting the exemption. The time period of the exemption shall be determined at the sole discretion of the commission, and nothing herein shall be construed as requiring the commission to grant an exemption for the 10-year maximum time period.

(f)  Land not exempt. No ad valorem tax exemption shall be granted for the land upon which new or expanded businesses are to be located. The sole intent of this article being to exempt from ad valorem taxation only certain improvements to real property and tangible personal property of new or expanded businesses.

(g)  Applicable taxes. The exemption shall apply only to taxes levied by the Taylor County Board of County Commissioners. The exemption shall not apply to taxes levied by the United States, State of Florida, school district, water management district or any other taxing district, or to taxes levied for the payment of bonds or taxes authorized by a vote of the electors pursuant to Section 9 and Section 12, Article VII of the Florida Constitution.

Sec. 70-38. – Application.

Any applicant desiring an economic development ad valorem tax exemption shall, on or before March 1 of the year in which the exemption is requested, file with the commission’s designee, (Taylor County Development Authority) Form DR-418 prescribed by the Florida Department of Revenue, or any amendment or replacements thereto, and any supplemental form prescribed by the county (together referred to as “applicant”). The Application shall request that the commission adopt an ordinance granting the applicant an exemption pursuant to this article and shall include the following information:

(1)  The name and location of the new business or the expansion of an existing business;

(2)  A description of the improvements to real property for which an exemption is requested and the date of commencement of construction of such improvements;

(3)  A description of the tangible personal property for which an exemption is requested and the dates when such property was or is to be purchased;

(4)  Proof, to the satisfaction of the commission, that the applicant is a new business or an expansion of an existing business as defined in section 70-35.

(5) The following information:

a.  The anticipated number of employees of the business;

b.  The expected numbers of employees of the business who will reside in Taylor County;

c.  The average wage of the employees of the business;

d.  The type of industry or business;

e.  The environmental impact of the business;

f.  The anticipated volume of business or production;

g.  Whether relocation or expansion of the business would occur without the exemption;

h.  Whether the business is/or will be located within an enterprise zone or redevelopment area;

i.  The cost and demand for services or product produced by the business;

j.  The source of supplies of the business and whether other businesses in the county will be used to meet the supply demands of the business.

Sec. 70-39. – Application process.

Upon receipt of an application for the economic development ad valorem tax exemption, the application shall be reviewed in the following manner:

(1)  Prescreening. The Taylor County Development Authority (TCDA) Director, or his/her designee, shall review the application within 10 days of submission to determine whether the application has satisfied all the requirements of section 70-38. Once the application is determined to be complete, the director shall schedule a meeting of the TCDA board of directors. The meeting shall be held within 30 days of determining the application is complete, or as soon as practical thereafter.

(2)  Preliminary analysis. No later than 10 days prior to the TCDA board meeting, the TCDA director shall prepare, in writing, a recommendation of the applicant’s eligibility for an exemption and prepare an economic impact analysis of the application. The recommendation and analysis shall be forwarded to the TCDA board immediately upon completion.

(3)  Economic development committee review. The TCDA board shall review the application and the director’s recommendation and analysis to determine whether the applicant is eligible for an exemption and shall recommend to the commission approval or denial of the application (with or without conditions), and the degree and length of the exemption if approval is recommended.

(4)  Property appraiser review. Upon receipt and careful review of the original application, the property appraiser shall report the following information to the commission within 30 days:

a.  The total revenue available to the county for the current fiscal year from ad valorem tax sources, or an estimate of such revenue if the actual total revenue available cannot be determined;

b.  Any revenue lost to the county for the current fiscal year by virtue of exemptions previously granted, or an estimate of such revenue if the actual revenue lost cannot be determined;

c.  An estimate of the revenue which would be lost to the county during the current fiscal year if the exemption applied for were granted had the property for which the exemption is requested otherwise been subject to taxation; and

d.  A determination as to whether the property for which an exemption is requested is to be incorporated into a new business or the expansion of an existing business, or into neither, which determination the property appraiser shall also affix to the face of the application.

5.  Final review/adoption by commission. Upon receipt of the property appraiser’s report, the TCDA director shall schedule the application on the next available commission meeting. At that meeting, the commission shall consider the application, recommendation of the TCDA board, recommendation and analysis of the TCDA director, and the property appraiser’s report to determine whether or not to consider the adoption of an ordinance granting an economic development ad valorem tax exemption to the applicant.