(A) Ineligible projects.
(1) Any applicant who completes an assessor assessment registration or building permit if within an incorporated area’s jurisdiction for a proposed project or acquires new manufacturing equipment prior to filing the appropriate tax phase-in (abatement) applications may not be eligible for tax phase-in (abatement). This is because the decision of the Council to designate the Economic Revitalization Area must be passed on the finding that the area is undesirable for normal development.
(2) Pursuant to I.C. 6-1.1-12.1-3(e), tax abatement for the redevelopment or rehabilitation of real property may not be approved for the following facilities:
(a) Private or commercial golf course;
(b) Country club;
(c) Massage parlor;
(d) Tennis club;
(e) Skating facility (including roller skating, skateboarding, or ice skating);
(f) Racquet sport facility (including any handball or racquetball court);
(g) Hot tub facility;
(h) Suntan facility;
(i) Racetrack;
(j) Any facility the primary purpose of which is (unless the facility is located in an economic development target area established under state law):
1. Retail food and beverage service;
2. Automobile sales or service; or
3. Other retail.
(k) Residential, unless:
1. Multifamily facility with no less than 20% of units available for low and moderate income individuals;
2. Located in an economic development target area; or
3. Located in an area designated as a residential distressed area.
(l) A package liquor store that holds a liquor dealer’s permit under I.C. 7.1-3-10, or any other entity that is required to operate under a license issued under I.C. 7.1. This division (A)(2)(l) does not apply to an applicant that:
1. Was eligible for tax abatement before July 1, 1995;
2. Is described in I.C. 7.1-5-7-11; or
3. Operates a facility under:
a. A beer wholesaler’s permit under I.C. 7.1-3-3;
b. A liquor wholesaler’s permit under I.C. 7.1-3-8; or
c. A wine wholesaler’s permit under I.C. 7.1-3-13 for which the applicant claims a deduction under this chapter.
(3) The County Council will not generally consider granting Economic Revitalization Area designation for “speculative developments” for which no major tenant has been identified. The County Council may consider granting an ERA designation if exceptional circumstances, in the discretion of the County Council, exist.
(B) Applications.
(1) The applicant must provide reasons why the project site qualifies as an Economic Revitalization Area as defined under state law, i.e., lack of development, cessation of growth, deterioration of improvements, or character of occupancy, age, obsolescence, substandard buildings, or other factors that have impaired values or prevent a normal development of property or use of property.
(2) The application shall include information as to the total amount of investment to be made in real and personal property, the number of new full-time equivalent jobs being created, the average wage of the new employees compared to the state minimum wage and the infrastructure requirements for the taxpayer’s investment.
(C) Scoring system. The County Council utilizes a scoring system as a guide for determining the appropriate length of time (one of ten time periods for real estate and one of five time periods for personal property are set forth in the guidelines) of the property tax abatement(s) being sought for a proposed project. The County Council may deviate from these guidelines and grant more or less tax abatement for longer or shorter periods of time (but not to exceed ten years) on a case-by-case basis as long as all requirements of Indiana law are met. The County Council may, in its sole discretion, determine that certain projects should not receive any tax abatement, no matter what the outcome using the schedules divisions (G) and (H) below.
(D) Real property.
(1) A property’s assessed value is the basis for property taxes. Annually, local assessing officials assess the value of real property on January 1 based on market value. Property owners can estimate the property taxes for new construction by adding the cost of the land and improvements together and multiplying by the tax rate. For real property tax abatement calculation purposes, the cost of the improvements (the land itself cannot be abated) would be utilized as the real property assessed value.
(2) This real property assessment value could then be phased-in.
(E) Personal property.
(1) Personal property values are assessed January 1 of every year and are self-reported by property owners to the assessor using prescribed state forms. Generally speaking, personal property taxes are levied against all tangible property other than real property. Numerous deductions can be applied to personal property. Of course, the value of personal property over time will be subject to depreciation, therefore, applicants are advised to seek the counsel of a financial advisor.
(2) To determine the eligibility of your specific type of personal property and for additional information on the state’s property tax assessment system, check the State Department of Local Government Finance website at www.in.gov/dlgf.
(F) Other requirements.
(1) The applicant for tax abatement, or an authorized representative, must attend all meetings of the County Council that deal with the application for tax abatement.
(2) (a) Property owners receiving tax abatement are required to file forms pursuant to state law on an annual basis by the dates required by state law with the County Auditor and/or County Assessor for each year during which tax abatement is received.
(b) The County Committee, as established in § 35.21(C), will verify the information prior to presenting the annual report to the County Council.
(G) Real and personal property tax abatement guideline scoring criteria; project evaluation criteria for new and existing businesses in the county.
Category | Points |
Category | Points |
New investment in property and equipment | |
$25,000 to $99,999 | 5 |
$100,000 to $249,999 | 10 |
$250,000 to $499,999 | 15 |
$500,000 to $749,999 | 20 |
$750,000 to $999,999 | 23 |
$1,000,000 to $1,999,999 | 26 |
$2,000,000 to $3,999,999 | 28 |
Over $4,000,000 | 30 |
New employment: number of new full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs | |
3 to 5 new FTE | 5 |
6 to 10 new FTE | 10 |
11 to 15 new FTE | 15 |
16 to 25 new FTE | 20 |
26 to 50 new FTE | 23 |
51 to 74 new FTE | 26 |
75 to 99 new FTE | 28 |
100 or more FTE | 30 |
New employment wage level: % above state minimum wage ($7.25 in 2011)* | |
180% of state minimum wage ($13.05) | 10 |
200% of state minimum wage ($14.50) | 15 |
225% of state minimum wage ($16.31) | 20 |
250% of state minimum wage ($18.25) | 25 |
300% of state minimum wage ($21.75) | 30 |
*Wage calculation based on average of all new positions. | |
Points possible based on specific evaluation criteria | 90 |
Targeted business bonus points* | 0—5 |
Use of existing vacant structure (points will be awarded based on actual vacant structure to be used) | 0—10 |
Use of county suppliers and contractors in construction/operation of project | 0—10 |
Offers tuition reimbursement or continuing education, "Clean/Safe" workplace, or incentives to move to Dubois County programs | 0—5 |
* Targeted businesses include those in measuring, testing and navigational instrument manufacturing, specialty food manufacturing, durable goods/wholesaling/distribution, specialty manufacturers such as medical, athletic, and game, toy and children’s vehicle manufacturing, and Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center Vendors (as identified in the County Area Development Corporation’s most recent Business Target Recommendations for the county) | |
(Existing county business) | |
Years the applicant has operated in the county | |
1 to 4 years | 1 |
5 to 9 years | 3 |
10 or more years | 5 |
Total points possible with bonus points | 125 |
(H) Guideline for real property tax incentives schedule of abatement.
Total No. of Points | Year | Real Property Tax Phase-In |
Total No. of Points | Year | Real Property Tax Phase-In |
10—19 | 1 | 100% |
20—29 | 1 | 100% |
2 | 60% | |
30—39 | 1 | 100% |
2 | 70% | |
3 | 30% | |
40—49 | 1 | 100% |
2 | 75% | |
3 | 50% | |
4 | 25% | |
50—59 | 1 | 100% |
2 | 80% | |
3 | 60% | |
4 | 40% | |
5 | 20% | |
60—69 | 1 | 100% |
2 | 90% | |
3 | 70% | |
4 | 50% | |
5 | 40% | |
6 | 20% | |
70—79 | 1 | 100% |
2 | 90% | |
3 | 75% | |
4 | 60% | |
5 | 50% | |
6 | 30% | |
7 | 15% | |
80—89 | 1 | 100% |
2 | 90% | |
3 | 80% | |
4 | 65%
| |
(I)
Total No. of Points | Year | Personal Property Tax Phase-In |
Total No. of Points | Year | Personal Property Tax Phase-In |
10—19 | 1 | 100% |
20—39 | 1 | 100% |
2 | 60% | |
40—59 | 1 | 100% |
2 | 70% | |
3 | 35% | |
60-79 | 1 | 100% |
2 | 75% | |
3 | 50% | |
4 | 25% | |
80+ | 1 | 100% |
2 | 80% | |
3 | 60% | |
4 | 40% | |
5 | 20% | |
(J) Revocation of tax abatement by County Council. The County Council believes that the granting of a request for real and/or personal property tax abatement under the terms and conditions established results in a contractual arrangement between the county and owners granted abatement.
(1) An applicant who fails to file its annual report with the County Council as required may have the tax abatement revoked by the County Council.
(2) An applicant who complies with the annual report requirement but does not substantially comply with the estimates set forth in the documents used by the Council when granting the abatement, unless the failure to do so was due to factors beyond the applicant’s control, may have the tax abatement revoked by the County Council.
(Council Ord. 2017-02, passed 10-22-2018; Council Ord. 2021-10, passed 329-2021)