St. Louis County Incentives
Tax Abatement
TIF and Super TIF
Chapter 100 Bonds
Chapter 353 Corporation Tax Abatement
St. Louis County offers a variety of programs to assist businesses with their expansion. Tax abatement, which is available for real and personal property to qualifying companies, is a negotiated process based on investment and project impact (job creation and retention, equity investment, quality of life, etc.).
The following is an example of annual tax abatement savings realized on a hypothetical $20 million business expansion investment with a 50 percent tax abatement:
St. Louis County provides Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and SuperTIF in select areas. These financing tools ensure that distressed or underdeveloped areas have access to redevelopment that may not otherwise be affordable.
TIF is a public financing method used for community improvement and redevelopment. It subsidizes a project by leveraging on the increased tax gains brought about by the project’s improvement to the value of the real estate and its surrounds. The increased site value and investment ultimately enlarges tax revenues and recoups the initial investment.
A SuperTIF acts in concert with the TIF by capturing a portion of the state’s withholding tax. Instead of leveraging on a project’s increased site value, the tax leverages on new job creation and the taxes generated by these jobs. The additional funds created by both programs enable quality development and creation of a pro-business environment in St. Louis County.
Chapter 100 bonds are a mechanism by which St. Louis County offers tax abatement on both real and personal property. Its purpose is to provide sales tax exemption on tangible personal property for non-manufacturing purchases.
The program prohibits the project already announced, bonds already approved/issued or personal property already purchased; however, it must:
- Involve competition with another state, necessitating the incentive to win the project
- Have above-average wages with benefits or be in an economically distressed area
- Include local incentives provided to the project commensurate with the state incentives, relative to the new state/local tax revenues created by the project
- Have a positive fiscal benefit
- Have an indication that the local sales tax exemption has been approved
For many projects, Chapter 100 bonds are issued in the full amount of the investment in real and personal property. The level of abatement and term of the bonds and abatement are subject to negotiation.
Chapter 353 Corporation Tax Abatement
Chapter 353 tax abatement is an incentive designed to encourage the redevelopment of blighted areas. It is based on tax increase resulting from higher property valuations due to the completion of the redevelopment.
For 25 years, the program provides tax abatement starting when the urban redevelopment corporation takes title to the property, otherwise known as the “base year.” During the first 10 years, the property is not subject to real property taxes (except for the real property taxes assessed for the year preceding the base year). During the next 15 years, up to 50 percent of the taxes may be abated.
Tax abatement is only available to for-profit urban redevelopment corporations organized pursuant to the Urban Redevelopment Corporations Law. The articles of association of urban redevelopment corporations must be prepared in accordance with the general corporations laws of Missouri and must contain certain items set forth in Section 353.030 of the Urban Redevelopment Corporations Law.
Contact St. Louis County Economic Council's business development professionals:
Douglas Rasmussen 121 S. Meramec Avenue | Monica Conners 121 S. Meramec Avenue | Nicholas Agrawal 121 S. Meramec Avenue |
