Oxford council approves tax abatement

The Oxford City Council agreed Tuesday to offer tax breaks to an expanding company looking to create 10 new jobs. The council approved a 10 year tax abatement to Manufacturing Technology and Services and JARA Properties, a Talladega real estate investment company, exempting them from paying non-educational ad valorem and property taxes for 10 years. Ronnie Smith, owner of Manufacturing Technology and Services and JARA Properties, plans to relocate to a new 10,000-square-foot facility on Bama Drive in Oxford.  The company makes orthopedic equipment, and is currently operating in a leased building on Alabama 21 in Oxford.  The tax abatements will cost the city between $18,000 and $20,000. Council President Steven Waits called it a good investment for the creation of 10 jobs.