Thompson project gets tax break

A tax break for a light manufacturing plant to be built by local entrepreneur Ray Thompson was approved Monday by the Flathead County commissioners.

Thompson Precision Inc. requested the tax reduction on $1.5 million worth of new equipment.

State law provides that businesses can request discounted tax payments from county officials. Once approved at the county level, the applying business must provide documentation about the equipment to the state Department of Revenue.

The reduction in taxes assessed on new equipment discounts the taxable value by 50 percent for each of the first five years. After that the tax percentage increases by 10 percent annually over the next five years until the full taxable value is reached in the 10th year.

Thompson recently acquired a California company called Applied Instruments Technologies and plans to build parts for instruments such as mass spectrometers, which measure the quantity of gases and liquids and are used in blending gasoline for various octane levels.

The plant will be located in the middle of a working farm north of West Reserve Drive.

The commissioners recently approved a master plan amendment and zone change needed to accommodate the manufacturing facility. Construction is expected to begin next year.