Fort Wayne City Council unanimously approved changes to the city’s tax abatement policy during its weekly meeting Tuesday night.
Under the new rules, property tax abatements for businesses exporting less than 25 percent of their services outside of Allen County would be eliminated.
The types of businesses affected by the change are those whose consumer base is located mainly in Fort Wayne and Allen County, like doctor and law offices.
Second district councilman Russ Jehl proposed the changes. He says the changes could help incentivize investment from businesses outside the community.
“It’s tapered, so if a hundred percent of your business comes from out of the county, you get all the points,” said Jehl. “And on that last tier, which was 25 percent, you’re just not going to be able to apply.”
Other changes were made to the tax abatement policy, which include:
- Vacant building tax abatements extend from one to two years
- Employers must pay employees $5,000 more per year to receive the same amount of points on an abatement application
- Wage scale adjustments for greater incentives to higher-paying jobs
