Tax Related Financial Incentives

In addition to BIDFA bonds and BLDC loans, the Boston Planning & Development Agency, in conjunction with the State, offers a variety of financial incentives to companies making a substantial investment in the City of Boston. These include:

  • Tax Increment Financing (TIF)
  • Commonwealth’s Infrastructure Investment Incentive Program (I-Cubed)
  • District Improvement Financing (DIF)
  • and Urban Redevelopment Corporations (Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 121A)

Our Loans

  • Tax Increment Financing (TIF)
    • TIFs are discretionary incentive tools that municipalities, together with the State, may use to encourage job retention and creation, property investment, and to promote certain areas of the city for development and economic activity.
    • Accomplished by a real estate property tax exemption.
  • Commonwealth’s Infrastructure Investment Incentive Program (I-Cubed)
    • I-Cubed helps develop by stimulating job growth through the investment of new public infrastructure and improvements  necessary to support major new private development.
    • Bonds are repaid by new state tax revenues.
  • District Improvement Financing (DIF)
    • DIFs enable municipalities to fund public works, infrastructure, and development projects.. Predefined districts pay incremental tax revenues to cover project costs.
    • Bonds are repaid by new real estate taxes.
  • Urban Redevelopment Corporations (Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 121A)
    • Urban Redevelopment Corporations streamline the permitting of a project and provide predictability to tax payments.
    • In exchange, the project then acquires certain  regulatory control, mainly by the BPDA for the term of the Chapter 121A status.

Success Stories

  • The Liberty Mutual Group (“Liberty Mutual”) is a diversified global insurer and one of the largest property and casualty insurers in the United States.  They are  headquartered in Boston and employs more than 45,000 employees in more than 900 offices worldwide.  Approximately 2,500 of Liberty Mutual’s employees are located at their Boston offices.
  • Liberty Mutual was awarded a Tax Increment Finance Agreement for their project locatedat 155 Columbus Avenue and 147 Berkeley Street in Boston. The project entailed construction of a 580,000 square foot structure at a cost of $300 million.
  • Liberty Mutual is committed to creating at least 600 new jobs over the life of a twenty year TIF agreement in addition to the approximately 745 new jobs that Liberty Mutual has created in Boston since 2004. The new development generated approximately 500 construction jobs during the construction period.