LOCAL INCENTIVES & PROGRAMS

City of Tucson Primary Jobs Incentive Program

The Primary Jobs Incentive assists Tucson in its efforts to bring quality jobs and investment into the region. The incentive provides up to a 100% reimbursement of construction sales tax to qualifying expenses such as the project’s public infrastructure improvements, offsets to impact fees, and/or job-training. The City may also reimburse eligible building permit fees. Qualifying projects must:

a) invests a minimum of $5 million in facilities or equipment
b) creates 25 jobs that pay wages of at least $54,932 (and all other local jobs are paid an average of $50,164)
c) cover at least 75% of employee health insurance premiums.

Town of Marana Job Creation Incentive Program

The Marana Job Creation Incentive Program (MJCIP) is a local incentive offered by the Town of Marana that helps businesses to locate or expand in Marana by receiving reimbursement from reallocation of construction sales tax on new construction or expansion projects according to specific employer qualifications.

Town of Oro Valley Primary Employer Incentive Program

Helps businesses to locate or expand in Oro Valley by reallocating construction sales tax revenues on new construction or expansion projects to expenses like employee relocation expenses, job training, public infrastructure or impact fee offsets.

Foreign Trade Zone Property Tax Reduction

Companies located in activated Foreign Trade Zones in the state of Arizona may receive a reduction in real and personal property taxes. Criteria to qualify varies by jurisdiction.

Government Property Lease Excise Tax (GPLET)

The City of Tucson GPLET can provide up to eight (8) years of property tax abatement. This incentive is available for projects located in the Central Business District that result in a property value increase of at least 100%. The amount abated cannot exceed the economic benefit created by the project. To become “government property” the City will take ownership of the property for the duration that the owner wishes to be relieved of tax obligations. View map.

Rio Nuevo Multi Facilities District is a Tax Increment Finance (TIF) District funded by a share of state sales tax dollars and held accountable to the Arizona State Legislature for use of the funds. TIF funds are reinvested into the community to create a dynamic city center. In partnership with private sector developers, commercial lenders, real estate investment firms and others, Rio Nuevo invests in projects that expand the tax base and bring people and new businesses to downtown Tucson. Rio Nuevo has been a partner in a variety of downtown projects and may be able to assist with gap financing, property tax relief, build and lease programs, construction financing, tenant improvements, and parking solutions. Rio Nuevo was instrumental in recruiting Caterpillar’s Surface Mining and Technology Division to downtown Tucson.

Pima County One-Stop Career Center helps businesses recruit and retain qualified employees at all skill levels. The One-Stop provides employers with a single point-of-contact to connect with hundreds of community programs, private and public training colleges, federal and local grant funds, as well as thousands of local job applicants. Pima County One-Stop will make available to client businesses:

• Job order registration, applicant screening and job matching conducted in person and online
• One-Stop facilities for large recruitment and hiring events
• Screening and placement of interns
• Skill training classes to upgrade the skills of existing employees, available for delivery at the company site and customized to fit company needs
• On-the-job training opportunities
• Supportive services for training participants

In Arizona, Industrial Development Authorities (IDA) are political subdivisions of the State that serves to promote development by serving as the issuing agency for bonds for private economic activities. Fees from these bond issues are paid to the IDA, which uses them for other development activities. Several Industrial Development Authorities throughout Southern Arizona support economic development efforts, including:

IDA of Pima County

Tucson IDA