Tax Increment Financing

A Component of the State’s Incentive Program
The Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Program is administered as the local component of the state’s Economic Development Incentive Program (EDIP), and is a partnership between the state, the municipality, and an expanding company. The EDIP is a flexibly and locally driven program that has become a premier economic development tool for Massachusetts. The EDIP is best described as a three-way partnership between the state, the municipality, and an expanding company.

In this program, participating companies receive favorable state and local tax treatment in exchange for job creation and commitments for private investment. Under the EDIP, the City of New Bedford is an Economic Target Area and Gateway Municipality, and utilizes this designation to address blighted, distressed, and underutilized areas and sites.  In a Gateway Municipality such as New Bedford, businesses looking to propose for such areas or sites are eligible for greater incentives. A company that intends to locate or expand operations in the city may submit a project proposal for certification to the City of New Bedford Tax Increment Financing Board. 

Types of eligible projects in the EDIP include; Expansion Projects, Enhanced Expansion Projects, Manufacturing Retention Projects, or Abandoned Building Renovation Projects. To learn more about the Massachusetts EDIP program, click here.

Certified Projects
To be considered for designation as a certified project, the project proposal must provide for job creation, and new investment in a way that is consistent with EDIP regulations and the NB Works Guiding Principles expressed by the City to ensure that opportunities abound for all its residents. 

A certified project proposal must be either:

•  The business’s first facility within the Commonwealth; or
• A new facility and not a replacement or relocation of an existing facility already located in the Commonwealth; or
• An expansion of an existing facility that will increase the number of permanent full-time employees of the controlling business in the Commonwealth; or
• A business generating substantial sales outside of the commonwealth

In exchange for job creation and investment commitments, a company’s certified project becomes eligible to receive state and local tax benefits that include:

• Local property tax exemptions pursuant to executed TIF or STA agreements
• 100% personal property tax exemption (for executed TIF agreements only)
• 10% abandoned building tax deduction (if applicable)
• Up to 10% enhanced investment tax credit (EOAC)

Reference Documents
Certified project proposals must comply with the eligibility guidelines as established by the City of New Bedford Tax Increment Financing Board. A full description of these requirements is provided in the TIF Program Policy and Guidelines-City of New Bedford  The NBEDC administers the Tax Increment Financing Program for the City of New Bedford and can guide your company through the application process, City/State approvals, and subsequent annual compliance reporting.