Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Cincinnati 2007 tax exemption programs beat job, investment goals

The City of Cincinnati's Enterprise Zone job creation tax incentives exceeded employment goals by 2 percent and investment goals by 65.9 percent in 2007, according to a report by the Tax Incentive Review Council (TIRC).

The annual TIRC review determines if businesses have complied with the terms of the agreement regarding project investment and job retention/creation and recommends continuation, modification, or termination of agreements.

Tax exemption agreements provided by the City include Enterprise Zone, Community Reinvestment Area (CRA), Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation (CURC).

The report shows that 12,746 jobs were created or retained in Enterprise Zone areas, with a total investment of nearly $538 million.

Of the 67 Enterprise Zone agreements in place in 2007, 42 were found to be in compliance and 17 had not met the required job creation and retention numbers.

Two were recommended for termination due to the companies leaving the City, and one is recommended for termination due to the company filing for bankruptcy.

One agreement is still within its compliance period until the end of 2008 and was not reviewed, and four of the agreements expired and now will be fully taxed.

Of the other tax incentives, CRA, TIF, and Incentive District TIFs were all found to be in compliance.

Total jobs achieved exceeded jobs required by 76.8 percent (1,241 jobs), and total investment exceeded requirements by 28.1 percent ($442.2 million).

Voting members of the TIRC include a representative of the Hamilton County Auditor, City Council, the City Manager, the Cincinnati Board of Education and the citizens.

Members act on information provided by the Department of Community Development.

Previous reading on BC:
Cincinnati 2006 tax incentives productive (10/30/07)