The Town of Bristol followed through on a promise it made months ago and eliminated a small tax — and a small stack of frustrating paperwork — for hundreds of businesses.

At its Dec. 30 meeting, the Bristol Town Council voted unanimously to create an exemption on tangible taxes for all businesses with less than $10,000 in tangible property. The change will impact more than half of the businesses in Bristol, and it takes effect immediately.

Town Administrator Steven Contente thanked the council for supporting the measure and touted this as an example of Bristol’s pro-business culture. “This is another step in the right direction to help our businesses, and make Bristol a very well balanced community, as a place to live and a place to work,” Mr. Contente said.

Until last week, the tax on tangible property was something every business in Bristol not only paid but spent time documenting. In the first part of the year, businesses were required to complete paperwork to inventory and assess the value of the tangible property for use in their offices or plants. The tax applies to things like computers, copy machines, manufacturing equipment, etc., with a small tax paid to the town annually based on the total value of what the business self-reports.

The new policy exempts all businesses with $10,000 or less of tangible property from paying the tax.

Tax Assessor Michelle DiMeo told councilors there are about 720 businesses in Bristol, and the change will impact about 400 of them. However, she estimates the town will lose a grand total of about $18,500 in tax revenue.

Mr. Contente and Economic Development Coordinator Chris Vitale both advocated for the new policy as a way to remove a burden on the town’s smallest businesses — less time on somewhat tedious paperwork — without having any significant impact on the town’s finances. Businesses with more than $10,000 in tangible property will continue to pay the taxes as they always have.

The council’s vote came just in time to impact the new tax year. Town code requires businesses to submit their inventory of tangible property in January of each year. Businesses now have that same window of time (from now to Jan. 31) to submit a Tangible Tax Declaration form attesting that they have less than $10,000 in tangible property to receive the town’s new exemption.

Mr. Vitale thanked the council and said the new forms were prepared and ready for use immediately.

Council Chairman Nathan Calouro said the town’s new policy has been noticed in other communities. “I’ll tell you this. Other communities have reached out to me to commend Bristol for taking this step, and they’re looking to do the same,” Mr. Calouro said.