(A) The City Council, after review by the Commission, may by a majority vote of the members elected adopt a resolution exempting commercial personal property of a new business facility located within the city limits from the imposition of any property tax on commercial personal property authorized to be imposed by the city, subject to the limitations below.
(B) The exemption authorized in this section may be for up to 100% of the value for property taxation purposes of the property exempted.
(C) The exemption authorized by this section may be for any period of time between one year and 20 years as long as the exemption does not, under any circumstances, exceed 20 years. The effective date of any exemption shall be January 1 of the property tax year in which the new business facility commences commercial operations.
(D) Any exemption granted hereunder shall automatically terminate on the last day of the property tax year in which it expires pursuant to the exemption resolution or on the last day of the property tax year in which a new business facility ceases commercial operations, whichever occurs first.
(E) In addition, any exemption granted hereunder shall be subject to “clawback” provisions inasmuch as the business facility will be required to reimburse the city a pro-rata amount of economic development incentives, including tax exemptions/abatements, received by the business facility in the event the facility ceases operation prematurely. The exemption resolution shall clearly define the terms of the clawback and the applicant/business facility will be required to acknowledge receipt, understanding and a willingness to comply with the terms of the clawback.
(F) The new business facility investment shall be determined by dividing by 12 the sum of the total value of such property on the last business day of each calendar month of the property tax year. If the new business facility is in operation for less than an entire property tax year, the new business facility investment shall be determined by dividing the sum of the total value of the property on the last business day of each full calendar month during the portion of the property tax year during which the new business facility was in operation by the number of full calendar months during that period.
(G) If a facility that does not constitute a new business facility is expanded by the taxpayer, the expansion shall be considered a separate facility eligible or the exemption authorized by the Act if:
(1) The taxpayer’s investment in the expansion exceeds $1,000,000 or, if less, 100% of its investment in the original facility prior to expansion; and
(2) The expansion otherwise constitutes a new business facility.
The taxpayer’s investment in the expansion and in the original facility prior to expansion shall be determined in the manner provided in § 2-14-2-3 under the definition of “new business facility investment”.
(H) If a facility that does not constitute a new business facility is expanded by the taxpayer, the expansion shall be considered a separate facility for purposes of the exemption granted by the Act if:
(1) The expansion results in the employment of ten or more new business facility employees over and above the average number of employees employed by the taxpayer during the twelve months immediately prior to the expansion, computed pursuant to § 2-14-2-3 under the definition of “new business facility employee”; and
(2) The expansion otherwise constitutes a new business facility.
(Ord. 35-2004)