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Tempe’s Enterprise Zone
The Tempe Enterprise
Zone is a designated area in which new and existing businesses may take
advantage of benefits such as tax savings and preferred consideration for
loan and job training programs administered by the Arizona Department of
Commerce.
The primary goal of
the Tempe Enterprise Zone is to encourage economic vitality in disadvantaged
areas through the creation of new jobs, the enhancement of private
investment and the strengthening of property values.
What are the
incentives?
·
State income tax credits for
net increases in qualified employment positions
·
Property tax reclassification
for qualified manufacturing businesses locating or expanding facilities in
an enterprise zone. Qualified businesses are eligible for an assessment
ratio of 5 percent on all personal and real property within the zone for
five years. Call Sheri Wakefield-Saenz in the City of Tempe Economic Development
Division at (480) 350-8812 for all the benefits and qualifications.
How many state
income tax credits are available for qualified positions?
State income tax
credits available in the Enterprise Zone are equal to:
·
One fourth of the taxable
wages paid to an employee in a qualified position not to exceed $500 per net
new position in the first year of partial employment
·
One third of taxable wages
paid to each previously qualified employee, not to exceed $1,000 per
employee, for the second year of continuous employment
·
One half of taxable wages
paid to each qualified employee, not to exceed $1,500 per employee, in the
third year of continuous employment
Who qualifies?
All businesses, except
those at a business location where tangible personal property is sold at
retail, may qualify for State income tax credits. Three to five percent of the
net eligible employees must live within an enterprise zone in Maricopa County
when hired.
An eligible employment
position is:
·
A full-time permanent job
·
Pays an hourly wage that is
better than the Wage Offer by Maricopa County
·
Provides health insurance to
employees for which the employer pays at least 50 percent
A qualified
manufacturer for property tax reclassification is either minority or
woman-owned, a small business with fewer than 100 employees or with fewer
than $4 million in gross sales and makes an investment of $2 million or more
in fixed assets in the Enterprise Zone.
To find out more about
Enterprise Zones or the Business Retention Program, please contact the
Economic Development Division at (480) 350-8028.
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