by Mary Tate
Thank you to all who attended the February Managers’ Meeting. We found the breakout sessions to be beneficial. Our Programs and Services Committee had the opportunity to discuss some of the topics that came up in these sessions. One such topic was the use of financial incentives, and it was suggested that PDC provide some educational opportunities around this. We also held the Asset Enhancement Community Revitalization Academy at the end of February and the need for additional education was again brought up. We hear you and will work to get this scheduled in April or May.
In the meantime, I wanted to provide a quick overview of some of the tools we see utilized in revitalization efforts:
Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance (LERTA):
A tax abatement program created by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1977 authorizing local taxing authorities to provide tax exemption. The purpose of the legislation is to incentivize redevelopment of aging or deteriorating properties.
Tax Increment Financing (TIF):
A tool used by municipal governments to stimulate economic development in a targeted geographical area. TIFs are used to finance redevelopment projects or other investments using the anticipation of future tax revenue resulting from new development.
Tax Credits:
A tax credit is an amount of money that taxpayers are permitted to subtract, dollar for dollar, from the income taxes that they owe. Tax credits are more favorable than tax deductions because they reduce the tax due, not just the amount of taxable income. Pennsylvania offers a variety of tax credits to qualifying businesses and individuals. Details can be found here.
We look forward to exploring this topic with you in more detail very soon!