Economic Development Incentives in Columbiana County
Columbiana County and it's communities offer various levels of tax incentives to encourage and spur economic development within our County.
Community Reinvestment Area (CRA)
The Ohio Community Reinvestment Area program is an economic development tool administered by municipal and county government that provides real property tax exemptions for property owners who renovate existing or construct new buildings. Community Reinvestment Areas are areas of land in which property owners can receive tax incentives for investing in real property improvements. The program is delineated into two distinct categories, those created prior to July 1994 ("pre-1994") and those created after the law changes went into effect after July 1994. CRA's exist within the following communities with differing terms and amounts: Center Township, Columbiana, East Palestine, East Liverpool, Leetonia, Lisbon, Perry Township and Salem.
Enterprise Zone (EZ)
Enterprise zones are designated areas of land in which businesses can receive tax incentives in the form of tax exemptions on eligible new investment. The Enterprise Zone Program can provide tax exemptions for a portion of the value of new real and personal property investment (when that personal property is still taxable) when the investment is made in conjunction with a project that includes job creation. Existing land values and existing building values are not eligible (except as noted within rare circumstances). Enterprise Zones in Columbiana County include the following: Center Township, Columbiana, East Liverpool, East Palestine, Leetonia, St. Clair Township, Wellsville and Yellow Creek Township.
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U.S. Foreign-Trade Zone
The U.S. Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ) is a special-purpose district created to encourage U.S. based companies to maintain and expand their operations in the U.S. by removing certain disincentives associated with manufacturing in the U.S. The goal of this program is to correct the imbalance by treating products made in the FTZ, for the purpose of tariff assessment, as if they were manufactured abroad. The benefit is the company uses U.S. labor, services and inputs to manufacture its product. FTZs are the U.S.’s version of what are known internationally as free-trade zones.
Opportunity Zone Tax Credits
This program is overseen by the Ohio Development Services Agency and is a companion to the federal incentives for investment into qualified opportunity zones implemented in the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Tax credits are available for up to 10 percent of capital gains up to $1 million per fiscal biennium, total credits to be issued limited to $50 million per biennium. Credits can be transferred, and once funds are invested into an opportunity fund, 100 percent of that investment must then be invested in an opportunity zone to be eligible. Excess credits may be carried forward up to 5 years and taxable trusts, estates and pass-through entities are eligible for the credit. Applications for the credit must be submitted to ODSA in January following the year in which investments are made. Eligibility is determined based on the order in which applications are received. The only location in Columbiana County that has an Opportunity Zone is Wellsville.
