For the first time, the city of St. Louis annual financial report quantifies the value of property tax breaks designed to stimulate development, tallying up nearly $17 million in forgone revenue during the fiscal year ended June 30.

The report, produced each year by the office of Comptroller Darlene Green, discloses the value of commonly used tax abatements in order to comply with new government accounting standards.

Tax abatements are allowed by state law and, in St. Louis, commonly offered as an incentive to developers. They freeze real estate values at the current level, typically for 10 years, so developers don’t have pay property taxes on the value of improvements to the property.

The $17 million in forgone property tax revenue includes taxes that would have gone to other taxing jurisdictions, such as St. Louis Public Schools, not just the city of St. Louis, according to the comptroller’s office.

St. Louis takes in about 19 percent of total property tax receipts. The bulk goes to the school district, which collects about 61 percent of property taxes in St. Louis.