Los Angeles, California – Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today issued the following statement after joining Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to announce the city’s proposal of a Business Tax Holiday and that Baxter’s BioScience business, a biotechnology company, has decided to continue its investment in California, a decision based largely on the recent expansion of the East Los Angeles Enterprise Zone:

“I applaud Mayor Villaraigosa and the city of Los Angeles on their continuing efforts to bring companies and jobs to the Los Angeles area. For our economy to recover we need the private sector to add jobs, and the proposed Business Tax Holiday and recent expansion of the East Los Angeles Enterprise Zone are two surefire ways to do exactly that. It’s great news that Baxter’s BioScience business has decided to continue its investment and preserve jobs right here in California as a direct result of the East Los Angeles Enterprise Zone expansion, and I look forward to celebrating the passage of the Business Tax Holiday and the new businesses it will bring to California.”

Villaraigosa issued this statement:

Today, I joined Governor Schwarzenegger to visit the site of a company that chose to stay in our great City and preserve 600 jobs for hard-working Angelenos.I want to thank Baxter BioScience for turning to our Office of Economic and Business Policy when they began to have doubts about Los Angeles being the best city for them to call home. I’m glad we made our case, and I think we proved that our jobs and economic development team — helmed by First Deputy Austin Beutner — is willing to go above and beyond the call of duty.

Since last February, my office has been meeting with Baxter to figure out we could do to keep their company and the vital jobs it has created here in Los Angeles.We listened to the employees of Baxter and learned how to develop and implement policies that will attract and retain businesses as well as create good-paying jobs right here in Los Angeles. And then we worked hard to actually make that vision a reality!

In fact, one particularly smart, business-savvy policy – the approval of Los Angeles’ State Enterprise Zone – directly contributed to Baxter’s decision to stay. When the East Side Enterprise Zone was expanded to include Baxter BioScience, the company was able to lower their operating costs with their newfound eligibility for special tax credits.

And this is happening to companies throughout the entire City, as we have aggressively expanded our enterprise zones, Los Angeles has gained the remarkable distinction of having the most acreage with enterprise zone designation – out of every city in California!

The bottom line here is that Baxter is just one example, since it is impossible to know how many other companies have decided to stay in LA and hire more people, because of the tax credits and deductions they gained from being in a Special Economic Zone.

Baxter’s represents the results-driven approach to our newly refocused Office of Economic and Business Policy.
And today, we have an exciting announcement that will give Los Angeles businesses another tool to help them thrive and grow: the Business Tax Holiday will attract new enterprise to Los Angeles by exempting them from any gross receipts tax for three years.

The effectiveness of tax holidays has been proven: my office commissioned a study at USC Business School that suggested the Business Tax Holiday would yield no loss in tax revenue. In fact, it would spur enough job growth to create more tax revenue. This tax holiday will create an estimated 55,000 new jobs with 12% unemployment, that is exactly the kind of jumpstart our economy needs.

I am proud of the fact that our office is leveraging every resource at our disposal to put Angelenos back to work, and I am thrilled that Baxter reached out to us and ultimately chose to stay in LA.

So on that note, I would like to thank Baxter again for believing in our City and for inviting us here today to celebrate a major milestone in their evolution as a company.

In potentially great news for Los Angeles, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has proposed a 3 year tax holiday for new businesses that move to or launch in the city of Los Angeles.

After seeing the success of the city’s local enterprise zone, Villaraigosa suggested that the new policy would help increase overall revenues for the city.

So what do the experts think about the policy? “The new policy will lead to the creation of up to 55,000 jobs and generate additional revenue for the city of Los Angeles,” said Charles Swenson, a USC professor who conducted research specifically for the initiative. “In addition, the multiplier effect of additional economic activity in the city nets a positive revenue impact.”

This announcement was posted by the LA Business Journal, you can read the full article by clicking here.

In exciting news for the Santa Clarita Enterprise Zone, The Signal has just reported that local businesses have issued 248 vouchers for Enterprise Zone-eligible hires in April. This hits a new record for the Enterprise Zone and should help to reveal to other cities in the state how important this program is to increase employment.

This is the largest number of vouchers issued in a single month since the Santa Clarita Enterprise Zone began in 2007.

Each voucher represents an individual eligible for a voucher, and who has been hired by a local company.

The city has issued more than 1,700 vouchers for the program since its designation, helping nearly 200 local businesses by providing tens of millions of dollars in potential tax saving benefits.

“Since its inception, the Santa Clarita Enterprise Zone program has resulted in more than 1,700 employees hired by local businesses and has the potential to save participating businesses a collaborative $60 million dollars,” Mayor Laurene Weste said. “With 97 percent of commercial-zoned land within the city of Santa Clarita included in the boundaries of the Santa Clarita Enterprise Zone, thousands of city of Santa Clarita businesses are eligible for these amazing tax savings.”

The Pacific Research Institute poses an interesting question that many business owners across the state have been pondering: should all of California become an Enterprise Zone?

K. Lloyd Billingsley proposes the following ideas below:

An enterprise zone is an economically depressed area targeted for revitalization through tax and regulatory relief. Such relief attracts business, provides jobs, reduces poverty and generally improves conditions. California has 42 enterprise zones, recently criticized as “ineffective” by scholars David Neumark and Jed Kolko. That prompted some business owners to fire back.

“The Enterprise Zones scattered throughout the state are like a business-friendly oasis in the desert of high-cost and regulation that is California,” wrote Daniel Morrow in the February 12, 2009, Capitol Weekly. “The tax breaks for buying equipment and hiring people provide exactly the kind of incentive that is necessary to get business to stay in California in the first place and serve as an attraction for new businesses as well, one of the very few California has to offer.”

California could also use another idea favored by Jack Kemp, an advocate of the flat tax. This means everybody pays the same rate, instead of a more punitive (what “progressive” really means) rate for high-income workers. During an economic downturn, punitive rates make for revenue instability. In Ending the Revenue Rollercoaster (2008), PRI’s Robert P. Murphy made the case for a flat state income tax of 3 percent. Said Steve Forbes, “A 3 percent flat tax would trigger the biggest boom in California since the Gold Rush!” And a flat income tax would help prevent the boom from being followed by a bust, our current condition.

April 1st may be April Fool’s day, however the city of Hesperia was celebrating since it marked the beginning of the region’s enterprise zone benefits. Starting April 1st, Hesperia local businesses were able to start taking advantage of the EZ tax credits, including: hiring credits, sales and use tax credits as well as business expense deductions.

“It’ll hopefully not only bring in new jobs, but also help people expand existing businesses,” City Manager Mike Podegracz said Friday.

This is very exciting for a city like Hesperia, since it will now be able to compete directly with larger cities in attracting new businesses to move to the area. This should also mean good things for the job rate in Hesperia, since local businesses will be able to apply for a number of different hiring credits.

If you have a business in the Hesperia area, contact us today to see which credits are available to you.

The Oakland Tribune reported this past week that local business leaders from San Bernardino are fighting to keep their enterprise zone benefits.

Wendy Clement, manager of the San Bernardino Valley Enterprise Zone, and local business owners traveled to Sacramento on Wednesday to ask lawmakers to continue funding the enterprise zone program, which gives tax breaks to businesses that relocate to or create jobs in a specific area.

Clement claims that there have been over 1,035 new jobs created in their enterprise zone, and the EZ program is one of the main catalysts for that growth.

Craig Johnson, president of the California Association of Enterprise Zones, said some lawmakers and state officials have proposed scaling back the enterprise zone program and its tax breaks, with the aim of bringing in money to balance the state’s books.

“They’re all scrambling for dollars,” Johnson said. “A lot of folks look at the tax credits that are taken and they believe that by abolishing the program, those credits will translate into more dollars in the treasury.” But that’s not true, Johnson said. Without the program and its tax breaks, some businesses would leave California and others would go out of business, he said.

Kings County officials are up in arms this week as Sacramento threatens to remove its designation as a state enterprise zone. Considering that we’re in the one of the worst recessions in recent history, cutting incentives to hire new employees does not seem to be the best strategy for decreasing the job crisis.

Eiji Yamashita, from the Hanford Sentinel, reports, “The county leadership is expected to send a letter to Assemblyman Manual Perez, chairman on Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy urging him to advocate for economically depressed areas like Kings County and help them retain their enterprise zone status.”

Without this enterprise zone designation, Kings County would not have the same appeal to new businesses and may even have issues with retaining current companies, since it would be in their best interest to move to a more corporate friendly city.

Considering that California has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation, it is about time that companies begin taking advantage of the enterprise zone hiring tax credits. Reports are showing that businesses operating in the San Bernardino enterprise zone region increased their hiring-related tax credit usage in 2009 compared to previous years.

Andrew Edwards, from The Sun, reports, “In 2009, managers of 99 businesses requested some 940 hiring vouchers, and 857 of those requests were approved. That’s about 57 percent more requests than 75 businesses filed in 2008.  Enterprise zone officials maintain that the hiring credits and other tax incentives made it possible for firms to create 132 new jobs and keep another 725 on the books.  The 99 firms that sought tax incentives during the past year represent only a slice of businesses that could be eligible for enterprise zone-related perks.”

If your business in in San Bernardino or Colton, you may be eligible for numerous tax credits, contact us today to find out which tax credits you can apply for.

The City of Taft was recently awarded the Enterprise Zone designation. “California Enterprise Zones give communities a chance to develop their economic potential, improve their quality of life and contribute to the state’s economy. Enterprise Zones are part of the Administration’s ongoing efforts to increase the number of jobs through state and local incentives,” said HCD Director Lynn L. Jacobs. “This is the single most important building block for Taft’s economic growth that the city has had in many, many years,” said Lucille Holt, Taft City Grants Administrator. “Its good news because it is not just for new businesses, but for existing Taft businesses as well.”

Businesses within Enterprise Zones are eligible for substantial tax credits and benefits, for example:
- Firms can earn $37,440 or more in state tax credits for each qualified employee hired.
- Corporations can earn sales tax credits on purchases of $20 million per year of qualified machinery and machinery parts.
- Up-front expensing of certain depreciable property.
- Lenders to Zone businesses may receive a net interest deduction.
- Unused tax credits can be applied to future tax years, stretching out the benefit of the initial investment.
- Enterprise Zone companies can earn preference points on state contracts.
- Up to 100% Net Operating Loss (NOL) carry-forward. NOL may be carried forward 15 years.
As you can see, Kern County and the City of Taft are positioned for an exciting future. We are also working with 4th District Supervisor Ray Watson regarding other plans that will create even more exciting possibilities for the greater Taft area.

Redlands has always been a popular place for businesses to re-locate due to its proximity to the large Southern California metro areas while still maintaining a lower price of living compared to nearby cities. However it appears that the city of Redlands may soon be able to attract companies by being added to the state’s Enterprise Zone program.

If approved it means that the city would be able to attract new businesses while being able to retain current companies with attractive tax credits.

Joy Juedes from ‘The Sun’ reports, “Redlands soon may have another carrot to dangle in front of businesses.
The city Redevelopment Agency is looking into making 200 to 300 acres north of the 10 Freeway part of the San Bernardino Valley Enterprise Zone, according to agency director Dan Hobbs. “It makes Redlands a more attractive place to locate,” said Redlands-based economist John Husing. The San Bernardino Valley Enterprise Zone is part of the state Enterprise Zone project, which targets “economically distressed” areas, Hobbs said.