Rochester Tech Park Receives Tax-Free Empire Zone Designation

GATES, NY-The designation of a section of Monroe County, which includes the Rochester Technology Park–the former Eastman Kodak Elmgrove campus–as a tax-free Empire Zone should make the region more competitive and facilitate the attraction of new jobs and investment, state officials say.

“This Empire Zone will help create new jobs and private sector investment for Monroe County and represents another major step in our effort to meet the challenges presented by the national economic downturn,” Governor George Pataki said in announcing the Empire Zone designation on Thursday.

The zone consists of two square miles, or 1,280 acres, 500 acres of which have been designated in the Town of Gates at the Rochester Technology Park property. Businesses that operate inside the Zone are eligible for a range of tax benefits that are applied against new capital investments. Benefits include tax reduction credits, real property tax credits, sales tax exemptions, wage tax credits, and utility rate reductions, among others. The tax benefits can reduce a company’s tax liability to as little as zero, state officials say.