Pall Corp., IDA agree to new tax breaks after firm cuts jobs

Pall Corp., once one of Long Island’s largest public companies, would remain here in a smaller form instead of moving to another state under a deal approved by Nassau County on Tuesday night.

The county’s Industrial Development Agency granted tax breaks for a $37.5 million project that calls for Pall to sell its 272,150-square-foot headquarters in Port Washington and then rent about 37 percent of the space.

The project would preserve 225 Pall jobs out of the 283 that the company had locally as of December. It has been transferring work to other states and countries since being purchased by biotechnology giant Danaher Corp. of Washington, D.C., in 2015. Pall had 500 local workers as recently as 2009.

Despite that declining employment, IDA officials said Tuesday that Pall has met its job promises to the agency for every year except 2016. The company was awarded tax breaks for 10 years in 2008.

The officials said Pall could be penalized for cutting jobs but also could demand a large tax refund from Nassau because its tax bill is higher than the headquarters’ assessed value.

After 18 months of negotiations, the IDA and Pall have agreed to put the counterclaims aside, end the 2008 tax breaks early and enter into a new agreement for tax breaks that last 15 years, according to the officials.

“I’m happy that Pall is keeping these R&D jobs,” said Timothy Williams, chairman of the IDA board of directors.

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Records show the affected Pall employees earn, on average, $100,000 per year. Most work in research and development for the manufacturer of filtration products.

Thomas Stringer, a site selection consultant hired by Pall, said, “as is often the case with Long Island employers that are acquired by out-of-state competitors . . . [operating costs] are a real part of their analysis of whether they keep facilities open.”

He said a $2 million grant from New York State would go toward the purchase of $4 million in equipment. In addition, Nassau is providing a sales-tax exemption of up to $300,000 on the purchases.

The Pall headquarters at 25 Harbor Park Dr. is being bought by Kiss Nail Products Inc., a fast-growing manufacturer of nail kits, eyelashes and cosmetics. Executives said Kiss already has two locations in Port Washington and will continue to use them.

Kiss plans to spend $3 million on improvements to the Pall headquarters, with the county offering a sales-tax exemption of up to $163,875 and a mortgage-recording-tax reduction of $252,000.

Kiss and Pall will both benefit from a property-tax deal that freezes the tax rate for five years, followed by increases of 1.56 percent in each of the next five years and then 2 percent increases in each of the final five years.

Kiss intends to move 265 of its 478 employees to the Pall headquarters, and to hire 40 more within the next three years.

Records show that yearly wages, on average, range from $30,000 for laborers to $110,000 for top executives.

Kiss chief financial officer Richard K. Kim expressed his gratitude for the IDA’s help. The company had weighed expanding in California, where it also has a facility.

IDA executive director Joseph J. Kearney said “the fact that Kiss is going to grow, and Pall is still going to continue to be in Nassau County is a significant win.”