Abilene council approves creation of reinvestment zone to allow tax abatement for Lansium expansion

The Abilene City Council on a voice vote approved on first reading the creation of a new reinvestment zone covering about 940.89 acres to enable future tax abatement requests tied to expansion by Lansium.

City Manager Robert Hanna told the council the designation is required before members can consider tax abatement agreements at a February 13 meeting and said the move is intended to keep Abilene competitive for large facilities that often proceed on short timetables.

Hanna said the authority would be used for tax abatement under Chapter 312 of the Texas Tax Code and compared it to Chapter 311 reinvestment zones, noting they serve different statutory purposes. He described the proposed abatement as an 85% abatement of the company's tax liability, with the city receiving the remaining 15% each year. Hanna said those 15% receipts represent “millions” over the life of the project and…