Benefits Highlighted: In addition to existing incentive programs, such as business equipment tax reimbursement, job training, and financing programs, effective January 1, 2004, qualified new and expanding businesses have access to:

• An enhanced ETIF (Employment Tax Increment Financing) program that returns a company 80% of the state income tax withholdings of 5 or more net new qualified employees for up to ten years;
• A 100% refund of corporate income tax and insurance premium tax for years one through five, and 50% for years six through ten;
• A local option TIF (Tax Increment Financing) that may return some or all of the new property taxes to a company and will not be counted against a municipality’s existing TIF area and value caps;
• (Effective Fall 2004) Reduced electricity rates, as requested by Central Maine Power Company, Bangor Hydro Company and Maine Public Service Company, and approved by the Public Utilities Commission; and
• (Effective July 1, 2005) A 100% sales and use tax exemption for zone-related construction materials and equipment purchases.

All Pine Tree Development Zone benefits can be “layered” over other available benefits. For example, Aroostook County is home to a federally-designated, Rural Empowerment Zone, entitling companies to federal tax credits up to $3,000 per employee. The federal tax credits can be taken in addition to the State tax credits for businesses located both in the Empowerment Zone and the Pine Tree Zone. And Lewiston has several inner-city parcels federally-designated as an Enterprise Community with associated benefits.

Eligible Businesses. Eligible businesses include firms engaged in manufacturing, financial services, and Maine’s seven targeted technology sectors: biotechnology, aquaculture and marine technology, composite materials technology, environmental technology, advanced technologies for forestry and agriculture, information technology and precision manufacturing technology.

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