What is a tax abatement?
Tax abatement is the forgoing of imposing property taxes, usually on business equipment or the like, for some specified period of time. This is usually done as an incentive for a business to locate in a specific location to spark economic development or add jobs. However, due to the normal depreciation of business equipment allowed by state law, property which receives the common 10 year term of abatement is taxed only about 20% of the total amount it would otherwise have incurred over the ten years had the abatement not been granted.
