Lower Manhattan rent tax abatements get four more years

Lower Manhattan will get four more years of its commercial rent tax abatement after the state legislature voted to extend a set of incentives from 2005 intended to aid the downtown recovery. The subsidies, originally slated to expire tomorrow, will cost the city an estimated $12 million per year in uncollected taxes, according to the state’s Department of Budget. The new end-date for the program is in 2014; the state budget will not be affected by the tax abatement. Officials who backed the extension, along with the Downtown Alliance, which also pushed for the plan, argued that the slower-than-expected pace of the World Trade Center’s redevelopment, coupled with the sluggish economy, made the tax abatements necessary. “These incentives mean jobs and continued economic development throughout Lower Manhattan and will spur more businesses to relocate, renovate, and expand throughout the area,” said Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Last year, the state extended a different set of incentives for Lower Manhattan, which cost the city and state roughly $200 million in taxes. [NYO]