One of the responsibilities of economic development is to manage programs that help incentivize growth. One program in our toolkit is the Enterprise Zone program. The is a tax credit program that provides growing businesses with an opportunity to save on property taxes when significant property improvements are made and income tax credit when new positions are created. The Enterprise Zone program is a geographic based incentive program; commercial and industrial parcels in two zones have been designated as eligible for consideration of incentives.
The Federalsburg Enterprise Zone was established in 2015 and includes parcels in the industrial parks and commercially zoned parcels in town. The North County Enterprise Zone was established in 2018 and covers eligible parcels in Ridgely, Greensboro, and Goldsboro.
The Enterprise Zone program is a Maryland Department of Commerce tool to grow existing businesses, create jobs, and revitalize communities. The Enterprise Zone benefits can spur business growth through property improvements and expansion and job creation. The beautiful thing about this program is current and new businesses can take advantage of it.
Companies that invest in their buildings or land could realize significant savings on the property tax on the new value of those improvements. The property tax credit portion of the program is a tiered reduction in property taxes on newly assessed value after an improvement. Companies that create at least five new jobs could get up to $1,000 per job state income tax credit.
The program is a partnership between the State of Maryland, which provides reimbursement of the benefits, and the County and Towns. The program is administered by the Caroline County Economic Development. A business must become certified by the County and meet certain eligibility requirements to take advantage of the benefits. More information on the program and certification is available at carolinebusiness.com.
Caroline County Economic Development and Tourism is an office within Caroline County government. For updates on any future business support, sign up for our newsletter and follow Caroline County Economic Development on Facebook.