VERO BEACH — The Indian River County Chamber of Commerce announced that businesses in the Vero Beach/Indian River County Enterprise Zone may now be eligible for a new sales tax exemption.
In a unanimous vote, Vero Beach City Council approved an ordinance allowing a 50% municipal tax exemption on electrical energy to qualified businesses.
To qualify for the exemption, businesses that are subject to this tax must be located within the Enterprise Zone and meet one of the following:
Locate in a newly occupied structure that had no previous electrical service
Locate in a renovated structure that had no electrical service for three months
Business owner has received a building materials sales tax refund
The new program took effect on September 25, 2012 and is scheduled for sunset review in December 2015.
The Chamber’s Economic Development Director, Helene Caseltine, also serves as the Enterprise Zone Coordinator. She and city staff brought this forward for the council’s consideration at the recommendation of the Enterprise Zone Development Agency (EZDA), a governmental advisory board for the program.
“There is a 30% vacancy in the Enterprise Zone (Airport) at this time that the city is trying to market. The Enterprise Zone is designated by the State Legislature. By doing this, we will be catching up with the other Enterprise Zones designated by the State,” explained council member Tracy Carroll, a non-voting liaison to the EZDA, during the council’s public hearing . “Florida has 59 Enterprise Zones. Nearly half that are subject to a municipal sales tax have enacted this program.”
The Enterprise Zone program provides certain tax credits and sales tax refunds to existing or new businesses as well as to homeowners located in the designated area.
The Indian River County/City of Vero Beach Enterprise Zone is a 4.5 square mile area that includes properties in and around the Vero Beach Municipal Airport plus the adjacent Gifford community. A detailed map of the area is available on the chamber’s website at www.IndianRiverChamber.com.
For more information on the Enterprise Zone program, please call Helene Caseltine at the Indian River County Chamber of Commerce at (772) 567-3491, ext. 121.