HOLT — The Economic Development Council of Okaloosa County has proposed a five-year property tax abatement for a Holt business looking to expand its operations.
Okaloosa County commissioners are scheduled to discuss the tax break Tuesday at their meeting in Crestview.
Under the proposal, the company would get a $45,000 abatement on tangible personal property taxes from 2014 to 2018. The abatement would apply only to tangible personal property not currently on the tax rolls.
The EDC has asked the county to pay $9,000, or 20 percent, of the tax break while the state would pay the remaining $36,000, or 80 percent.
Read a copy of the agenda request and other documents.
The state arrived at the $45,000 total by allocating $3,000 for each of the 15 new jobs the company has said it would add.
Commissioner Wayne Harris said the proposed tax abatement makes sense for a county looking to generate more jobs.
“It’s a small amount of money we give up over a period of time and really negligible in the scheme of things for greater benefits later on,” he said. “These people are needing some breaks, and if they create jobs for our citizens, that’s a good thing.”
With every new job, the area gets a person, or family, who might go out and buy a house or spend money in other ways across the community, Harris added.
He said tax abatements are “the cost of doing business” today.
The EDC has not released the name of the Holt business because state statutes require confidentiality.
Under the proposal, the new jobs would pay an average salary of $50,750.
If commissioners approve moving forward with the tax abatement, the board would have to schedule a public hearing on the matter.
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Kari Barlow at 850-315-4438 or kbarlow@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KariBnwfdn.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: County to consider tax break for Holt company (DOCUMENT)