Potential Incentives

The City of Missouri City is committed to the promotion of high quality development in all parts of the city. On a case-by-case basis, the city will give consideration to providing tax abatement on the increment in value added to a particular property by a specific development proposal, which meets the economic goals and objections of the city. The tax abatement will always be performance based and in the form of a reimbursement of a portion of taxes based on performance.

Tax increment financing is a tool that local governments can use to publicly finance needed structural improvements and enhanced infrastructure within a defined area. These improvements usually are undertaken to promote the visibility of existing businesses and to attract new commercial enterprises to the area. The statutes governing tax increment financing are located in Chapter 311 of the Texas Tax Code. 

The cost of improvements to the area is repaid by the contribution of future tax revenues by each taxing unit that levies taxes against the property. Specifically, each taxing unit can choose to dedicate all, a portion of, or none of the tax revenue that is attributable to the increase in property values due to to being within the reinvestment zone. 

The additional tax revenue that is received from the affected properties is referred to as the tax increment. Each taxing unit determines what percentage of its tax increment, if any, it will commit to repayment of the cost of financing the public improvements. 

Tax increment financing may be initiated only by a city. If property is located outside the city limits (within the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction or beyond), it is not eligible for tax increment financing. Once a city has initiated tax increment financing, counties, school districts, and special districts are allowed to consider participating in the tax increment financing agreement.
 
The City of Missouri City has three Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones (TIRZ). Learn about the zones on this detailed TIRZ Map.

The City of Missouri City, Fort Bend Independent School District and all utility districts offer a freeport tax exemption on goods in transit (or "freeport goods") from ad valorem taxation. Freeport goods are inventories acquired or brought into the state by businesses and held for no more than 175 days before being shipped out of state.
 
Any business or industry that assembles, manufactures, processes, stores, maintains, fabricates or distributes their products in Texas and ships them out of state within a 175-day cycle are eligible. The Freeport Exemption will apply to the percentage of raw materials, goods-in-process and finished products that meet this requirement. 

There are a variety of job training programs offered at both the local and state level.

• Houston Community College System:  Contract training through the Houston Community College (HCC) system provides custom-tailored programs for companies to assist in providing employees with the skills necessary to significantly increase productivity. Classes cover the topics you need, are available at the times you want them, can be taught as credit or noncredit classes, and can be delivered in state-of-the-art classrooms. Training can even be done on-site at your facility. Contract training represents a cost-effective way to ensure that your employees stay abreast of changes in technology and the latest developments in your industry through hands-on, results-oriented instruction.
• Smart Jobs Fund: The Smart Jobs Fund is administered through the Texas Department of Economic Development and Tourism and provides funds for training. The program gives priority to the creation and retention of family wage jobs and focus on employers in industries that promote high-skill, high-wage jobs in high-technology areas and on-demand occupations that provide those jobs. To receive a grant, the employer must certify that trainees will have jobs at the completion of their training and that their wages will be at the levels specified in the law.
• Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center: The Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center (TMAC) provides assistance to small Texas manufacturers seeking to upgrade their operations to become more globally competitive. TMAC field engineers operate out of offices located around the state and provide hands-on assistance to companies. After initial contact, a TMAC field engineer performs an assessment and makes confidential recommendations to company management. This assessment results in the development of an assistance plan designed to improve the manufacturer's bottom line. The field engineer then draws from a number of public and private resources to implement the changes.
• Texas Skills Development Fund: The Texas Skills Development Fund is designed to finance customized job training for business and industry. Grants are awarded to public junior, community, and technical colleges for local job training needs. The fund will underwrite training for specific skills for workers who will be hired by the participating businesses. The fund will provide training for new jobs created through business expansion or relocation. Funds are not available to provide training for an employer who relocates from one place in Texas to another. Funds may be combined as part of a work force development package to facilitate business relocation or expansion.

The State of Texas offers a variety of incentives to qualifying companies. View a summary of state incentives and programs offered to local businesses to increase productivity and/or encourage growth.