This article appeared in this weekend’s Hesperia Star.

Assemblymember V. Manuel Pérez, representative from Imperial County, weighed in on KXO Radio discussing the future of the Enterprise Zone program:

“We cannot overlook the state’s Enterprise Zone program. I spent a lot of time last year facilitating a hearing process to examine many aspects of this program, and I appreciate the efforts of stakeholders to participate in the dialogue. Last month, I introduced AB 2476 to serve as a vehicle for statutory reforms to the program. As the bill currently reads, it makes changes to the eligibility criteria for Targeted Employment Areas. I see this measure as a starting point and look forward to ongoing and productive discussions as we refine the bill language and make an important program even better.”

San Joaquin County has been hit hard by the recession, however the city and many local businesses finally have a reason a celebrate this week. The reason for the celebration is the news that the State of California has approved the requested Enterprise Zone boundary expansion that the region has been requesting for the past year.

Considering that the county has been battling an unemployment rate of 15%, this Enterprise Zone expansion should help to bring jobs to the area due to the numerous tax breaks businesses can partake in by hiring local employees.

The Enterprise Zone offers many perks to spur growth and give residents jobs. Local businesses can earn more than $37,000 in state tax credits for each local employee they hire.

News coming out of Stockton this week reveals the perspective of the SBA Chief, Jim O’Neal. At the Stockton Summit, O’Neal discussed the opportunities and challenges that the economy offers small businesses in California. Despite the fact that there are quite a few difficult obstacles such as: lower consumer spending and hesitant banks; there are also a number of opportunites that businesses can take advantage of. Some of the keys that O’Neal discussed were:

• A rich workforce to pull employees from
• Lowered prices for inventory
• Lower real estate costs

In addition to these helpful benefits, companies can also take advantage of their local enterprise zone program, which could be saving your company a considerable portion of the your tax expenditures. Contact us today if you are interested in seeing what the state has allocated to you.

Salinas Valley is moving forward with the city’s Enterprise Zone efforts.  From increasing employment opportunities to making the region more attractive to large businesses, the EZ program can help make the entire process as efficient as possible.

Andrew Myrick, the Salinas Valley Enterprise Zone manager wrote the following:

Professor Charles Swenson from the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business confirms that enterprise zones work. His research found that California’s enterprise zone program decreases unemployment rates, boosts wage, salary and household incomes and decreases poverty rates. Another study by the California Department of Housing and Community Development found that poverty rates and unemployment declined and incomes increased more in enterprise zones than in the rest of the state.

California continues to expand state spending and ultimately its tax burden on a regular basis.  Despite only growing its population by 5% over the past several years, state spending has increased by 31%!  Which is why California continues to be one of the highest taxed states in the country. Josephy Henchman, from the TaxFoundation.org blog had this to say about the state’s current tax position:

“California is a high tax state. They are sixth highest in state-local tax burden as a percentage of state income. The sales tax is the highest state rate in the country even before the recent 1% increase, and numerous county rates keep them in the top 5 of state-local combined rates. Their individual income tax top rate is the second highest in the country, eclipsed only recently by Hawaii, and is sixth highest in the country in terms of collections. The corporate income tax is one of the highest in the country and sixth highest per capita in collections. Even the gas tax is the third highest in the country and the state Lottery has the fifth highest implicit tax rate in the country. Only on property taxes is California “low”: 28th highest in collections per capita.”

With this in mind, it is vital that companies that run their businesses in California take advantage of every tax break possible, especially companies that reside in one of the California Enterprise Zones.  If you have a business in one of the state regions, contact us to receive a free consultation.