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Small businesses are usually overlooked when governments hand out tax breaks and other economic incentives.

That would change under the proposed Commercial Investment Policy under consideration by Guilford County commissioners.

The plan would provide grants to virtually all owners of nonresidential property who increase the value of their holdings. The grants would offset their additional property tax liability for three years.

For example, if a flower shop added a greenhouse and raised the value of its property from $1 million to $1.25 million, it would be reimbursed for its tax bill on the additional $250,000 for three years. The effect would be a 20 percent tax rebate over that period.

Commissioner Kay Cashion views the idea as a way of “reaching down a level” with economic incentives to businesses that never would be granted incentives under existing policies.

Commissioner Bruce Davis thinks it will encourage growth. “We’ve got to do something other than just wait for things to get better,” he said. “This is a local stimulus.”

Maybe so. It might make a business owner a little more likely to enlarge her operation if she could recover some of her investment through a tax break. And it might give Guilford County a slight edge in attracting new businesses interested in a tax savings.

Commissioner Kirk Perkins has his doubts, however, that the incentive will prompt enough business growth to justify the loss of tax revenue.

In a typical year, business and commercial expansion brings in about $3 million in additional property tax revenue, Tax Director Ben Chavis said.

That’s about the amount of additional money the Board of Education needed for school maintenance, Perkins noted.

Board of Commissioners Chairman Melvin “Skip” Alston isn’t worried about giving businesses a temporary tax break. “After three years, they will pay for that expansion forever,” he said. In the meantime, the policy “shows that we’re business-friendly, especially to small businesses. It’s a win-win situation for everybody.”

That may take some time to determine. The policy might spur enough new investment to produce even more tax revenue in the long run, but it’s an experiment. Chavis, the tax director, said he’s not aware of any other North Carolina county with a similar policy.

Unlike most approaches to economic development, this one has no link to jobs. The county has other programs that offer incentives based on employment. If the plan works well, however, businesses might use tax savings to increase payrolls.

It’s worth a try. It can’t reduce tax revenues from current levels. At worst, it gives a fairly modest tax break to businesses that create more value. At best, that additional value translates to more jobs and eventually more tax money to invest in schools, public safety, public health and other essential services. Often overlooked, small businesses that grow bigger can help build a stronger economy.