One of the last acts of former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett was to award a CRIZ Pilot Zone designation to the Borough of Tamaqua. The City Revitalization and Improvement Zone is a special designation which provides third-class cities with a chance to improve and develop targeted areas. The program was created by the state as Act 52 of 2013.

The CRIZ program allows Tamaqua to leverage state tax dollars to spur private investment in underused real estate or to attract development and create new jobs.Sounds good, but what does it mean for the businesses located within the CRIZ?That question was asked by Tamaqua Borough Councilman Tom Cara during last week's council meeting.Cara asked his question after Council President Micah Gursky updated members on the process, noting the looming June 1 deadline for the newly appointed CRIZ Authority to provide the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue with a master list.That list must include all of the businesses located within the zone. That zone encompasses 297 tax parcels, including several home businesses, rental properties and nonprofit organizations."Each property/business owner has received a letter concerning the next step in the process, which is for them to fill out an online form for the revenue department," Gursky said. He went on to explain that filling out the forms is a mandatory obligation for each property/business owner. Anyone who fails to fill out the form is subject to a $1,000 fine.The department is looking for tax information for 2014. That will establish a baseline for the future.As Gursky explained, "If a business collected $5,000 in sales tax last year, and collects $6,000 this year, that $1,000 will be given back to the borough to use for economic development within the CRIZ zone. It could be a lot of money, or a little money, but we need to establish that baseline first."The sales tax is just one example as other state mandated taxes will also be in play.Gursky stressed "Filling out these forms is not optional. It is mandatory for any business, even those not showing a profit, to go to the state's website and fill out a CRIZ form."The forms may be found at

www.revenue.pa.gov. Click on general tax information, then incentives/credits and programs and look for CRIZ Electronic State Tax Report. You will need to create an account. The process should only take a few minutes, a short time to spend to avoid a $1,000 fine.