Bill extends Pine Tree Zone to entire state
A bill that would provide Pine Tree Zone incentives throughout the state is expected to arrive in the Maine House of Representatives soon, after it won a unanimous endorsement from the Business Research and Economic Development Committee last week.
LD 1473 proposes to extend the development zone incentives to all eligible businesses, regardless of location. When enacted in 2004, the PTZ program was restricted to businesses within municipalities with below-average wages and high unemployment rates. The program offers 10-year incentives, such as income tax breaks and utility discounts, to businesses that provide new, good-paying jobs in certain industries. Through 2007, the PTZ has been credited with creating more than 2,400 new jobs, according to data from the Department of Economic and Community Development.
If it passes, LD 1473 would establish a tiered approach to the incentives program, which has previously excluded wealthier communities. All existing PTZ businesses and communities would be grandfathered under the original plan, and any new municipality or business approved for the program could receive the same incentives as the original PTZ through the end of this calendar year. After January 2010, certain restrictions would be imposed on wealthier communities in York and Cumberland counties, such as limiting the length of the PTZ incentives to five years.
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