The city of Barstow was very excited to be approved for a California Enterprise Zone, the city can now utilize a very powerful tool to help save businesses money off their annual taxes.

Who is in the Barstow Enterprise Zone?
All types of existing businesses:

• Railroads
• Truck Stops
• Dentists and Doctors
• Auto Mechanics
• Car Dealerships
• Beauty Salons
• Coffee Shops
• Accountants
• Printers, Hotels, and More

Any businesses that is located within the boundaries of the Enterprise Zone is eligible for the numerous benefits of the Enterprise Zone location.

How do I get into the Barstow Enterprise Zone?
By relocating  in the Enterprise Zone!  Buy, lease or build within the boundaries of the Enterprise Zone and your business will receive all the benefits of being in the zone.

What are the benefits of being in the Barstow Enterprise Zone?
For starters, how about a Hiring Tax Credit of more than $30,000 per qualified employee during a 5-year period?

Your business may be eligible for:

• Sales and Use Tax Credits
• Business Expense Deduction for Business Property
• Net Operating Loss Carryover
• Net Interest Deduction for Lenders
• Employee Wage Credit

Both existing businesses, as well as new businesses that move into the Enterprise Zone, may receive the above benefits.

Other Barstow Enterprise Zone Incentives

• Favorable loan programs
• Industrial sites as low interest or interest-free financing
• Building ready to occupy
• Pads ready for building
• Fast-track planning and building permits
• 34-acre business park with utilities already in
• Barstow is a pro-business city
• One-Stop career center for workers and employers
• State sales and use tax credits on qualified purchases

Since the Governor announced the new California Enterprise Zones that had been given temporary status approval, all but one of the proposed zones has complied with the full process.  And that one zone was the city of Arvin, CA.  I researched back and discovered an article written by the mayor of Arvin, Tim Tarver, who wrote an article that discussed the current status of Arvin’s EZ.  A portion of his article is below:

As mayor of the City of Arvin, I know that one of these programs the Enterprise Zone program will help create needed employment opportunities for our city. Yet today this program is under serious threat of being phased out.

The EZ program will bring jobs to Arvin. And it will keep them here. One of the biggest challenges facing our area is being able to recruit local business investment and keep a healthy amount of employees working in our area.

The EZ program, with its attractive mix of incentives and credits, will aid our city in building a stronger base of local businesses and employees. This means a more financially secure and bright future for Arvin.

The EZ program creates incentives for businesses to locate in Arvin, and to hire local citizens who face barriers to employment. The program helps make our city competitive and enables us to import businesses, instead of exporting our talent.

The budget crisis by nature will demand fiscal restraint, but the answer to the problem cannot be to cut one of the only economic development tools that can stimulate growth and revenue in areas like Arvin.

Our city has witnessed first-hand the negative impacts of the housing market crash, the nationwide economic slowdown, and the often challenging conditions of California’s business climate.

We have also seen that the best tool for achieving long-term growth and financial security is attracting and retaining good companies and good jobs in our local area.

It would be seriously detrimental for our elected officials in Sacramento to pull the plug on the EZ program and the opportunities it has afforded to the areas and people that need it the most.

The city of Arvin is and will continue to be open for business, and we will continue to support the EZ program on the firm base of progress that it has helped us to create.

The Tax Foundation‘s 2009 State Business Tax Climate Index has ranked the stat of California number 48 out of 50 states nationally.  At first glance this appears to be extremely negative.  However, the main reason why businesses in California have higher tax rates is mainly due to the fact that they are not taking advantage of the myriad of tax credit options they have available.  Below are some of the credits we can help you receive:

• EMPLOYER HIRING CREDITS
• SALES and USE TAX CREDITS
• BUSINESS EXPENSE DEDUCTION
• NET INTEREST DEDUCTION
• NET OPERATING LOSS CARRYOVER
• DEPARTMENT of WATER and POWER RATE DISCOUNT
• SITE PLAN REVIEW and FEE WAIVER
• SEWER FACILITY CHARGE EXTENDED PAYMENT OPTION
• REDUCED PARKING ORDINANCE
• WORK OPPORTUNITY TAX CREDIT

Here at C & I Tax, along with assisting accountants and companies in taking full advantage of the California EZ Tax Credits, we also feel it is our duty to spread the message of how much potential there really is for businesses that utilize these credits.  This past Friday we posted a feature article on the Santa Clarita Enterprise Zone (coverage), and Carol Rock from KHTS had this to say about EZ Zones,

“What the city discovered was that their guests were unaware of the zone designation or were unable to promote it properly. On the up side, Beiry said they have heard from businesses in the San Fernando Valley that will only locate to other enterprise zones, a plus for their economic development efforts.”

Santa Clarita Mayor Bob Kellar had this to say about Enterprise Zones, “We have a business friendly City Council and government that does not require a business license fee, does not assess a utility user tax, and offers an Enterprise Zone for even more tax savings incentives to businesses. Santa Clarita is one of the few places in LA County where there is available space and let me clarify that with ‘attractive’ available space, not just some large plot of land out in the middle of the desert but real opportunities for infill projects, or with freeway frontage, and more.”

If you want to know more information about California Enterprise Zones, click here to contact us and let us assist you in taking full advantage of the tax credits available to you.