IDA tax breaks yield $593M boost for Babylon Town, study says

The tax breaks granted by the Town of Babylon Industrial Development Agency between 2011 and 2015 created $593 million in economic investment in the town, according to a study recently released by the agency and Farmingdale State College.

The analysis by economists at the college considered the economic activity of 80 local companies that received financial benefits from the agency in that period, according to the report. About half were manufacturers, while the rest were classified as wholesale traders, service companies and mixed-use developers.

The agency, whose mission is to promote and protect business in Babylon, granted these companies tax exemptions and abatements that, between 2011 and 2015, were worth $6.2 million, according to the report. The businesses in turn increased Babylon’s gross regional product — a common measure of local economic production — by 1.1 percent annually during construction, and are projected to increase it an additional 4.1 percent annually once fully operational, according to the study.

They are also expected to increase employment in the town by 3.8 percent, the report said.

Patrick Halpin, chairman of the agency’s board of directors, described the report in a statement as a “reassurance that the types of business we look to attract and incentivize are the right fit for Babylon.”

Richard Vogel, dean of the college’s school of business, said in a statement that the study demonstrates the tax breaks granted by the agency “have contributed significantly to Babylon’s continued growth and economic vitality.”

The IDA paid the college $16,000 to conduct the study, agency CEO Matthew T. McDonough said.

The report can be found on the agency’s website: babylonida.org.