Officials will also discuss making changes to the
Pine Tree Zone program.
WILTON – Selectmen plan to meet with representatives of SAD 9 to discuss plans for the 2004-05 budget Tuesday. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the town office.
They will also meet with Bee Line Cable Vice President George Allen to discuss the company’s plans for the coming year.
Officials will hear a quarterly report from the police department and a report from the fire department. They will also review information on a draft resolution pertaining to property tax relief and the sales tax.
Nielsen also told selectmen at their last meeting that a group called Taxpayers for a Fair Budget, an affiliate of the Maine Citizen Leadership Fund, is asking towns for support of their resolution to increase the state sales tax rate by 1 cent in an attempt to generate property tax relief. Officials said they wanted to determine the response of other towns before making a decision about whether or not to support the effort.
In other business, officials will discuss amending the documentation supporting the Pine Tree Zone Economic Development Program application to increase the number of sites in Wilton that are to be included.
The program will authorize qualified businesses in the manufacturing, technology and financial services fields to receive benefits for 10 years by establishing businesses within the zones.
Qualified businesses in a Pine Tree Zone will be entitled to benefits including paying no Maine income taxes for the first five years, a 50 percent reduction of Maine income taxes for a period of time, a 10-year sales tax exemption for sales to construction contractors of items to be incorporated into the real property associated with a qualifying project. Other benefits are: a 10-year sales tax exemption for sales of all tangible personal property to a qualifying business, and an 80 percent reimbursement of employee withholding taxes for qualified employees. Among other qualifications and limitations, Pine Tree Zones can only be located in areas of relatively high unemployment or low wages.
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