Neighborhood Improvement Zone

The Neighborhood Improvement Zone (NIZ) program was established by Act 50 of 2009, Act 26 of 2011 and Act 87 of 2012, and then was added to the Tax Reform Code by Act 52 of 2013 as amended in Act 84 of 2016. State and local taxes collected from the NIZ will be used to repay debt service and bonds issued by the Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Zone Development Authority to fund various economic development projects within the zone, including an arena.

All businesses within the NIZ must complete an annual state tax report by Jan. 31st each year so the Department of Revenue may certify state taxes to be transferred to the NIZ Fund established for the redevelopment project.

Any business within the NIZ that fails to file a complete report on a timely basis will be subject to a penalty of the greater of $1,000.00 or 10 percent of all eligible state taxes payable by the business for activities in the NIZ during the previous calendar year.

Businesses within the NIZ are also required to file local tax reports with the city of Allentown by Jan. 31st, so that local taxes may be transferred to the NIZ Fund established for the redevelopment projects.

Questions regarding the NIZ program should be directed to 717-772-3896 or ra-rveconomic-dev@pa.gov.