Foreign-Trade Zones (FTZ) are secure areas under U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) supervision that are generally considered outside CBP territory upon activation. Located in or near CBP ports of entry, they are the United States' version of what are known internationally as free-trade zones.
Q. What is the New Markets Tax Credit and how does it work?
A. The credit provides an incentive for investment in low-income communities. The US Department of the Treasury competitively allocates tax credit authority to intermediaries that select investment projects. Investors receive a tax credit against their federal income tax.
Encourages private sector investment in qualified zones through tax benefits, including tax deferral and exclusions of deferred gains over time.
The Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF) awards “deal-closing” grants to companies considering a new project for which one Texas site is competing with other out-of-state sites. The fund serves as a financial incentive for those companies whose projects would contribute significant capital investment and new employment opportunities to the state’s economy.
The Texas Enterprise Zone Program (EZP) is a state sales and use tax refund program designed to encourage private investment and job creation in economically distressed areas of the state.
Industrial Revenue Bonds (IRBs) provide a source of tax-exempt or taxable bond finance for projects involving significant private activity that promote new and existing businesses, encourage employment, and expand the tax base of a community. IRBs are issued by Industrial Development Corporations sponsored by a government unit, but their proceeds are passed on to private businesses, which are generally responsible for debt service payment.
The Product Development and Small Business Incubator Fund (PDSBI) offers long-term, asset-backed loans to product development companies and small business incubators/accelerators located in Texas. The loans finance the development and production of new or improved products or the stimulations of new or existing small businesses in Texas. The program targets those businesses which may be unable to obtain full financing or financing on workable terms in traditional capital markets.
Established by the 74th Legislature in 1995, The Skills Development Fund was designed to better utilize the public community and technical college system in Texas as well as other training organizations and have them partner with businesses throughout the state (with priority on small businesses) to train workers to meet the labor needs of employers and the regional labor market.
Intense and rapid response to, and support services for, employers expanding or relocating operations to Texas. These employers must provide complex or high-skilled employment opportunities.
Chapter 313 of the Texas Economic Development Act authorizes an agreement in which a taxpayer agrees to build or install property and create jobs in exchange for a 10-year limitation on the taxable property value for school district maintenance and operations tax. The City of Mesquite will facilitate the Chapter 313 process in partnership with a qualified project.
Chapter 380 of the Local Government Code authorizes municipalities to offer incentives designed to promote economic development for commercial and retail projects. The City of Mesquite will consider offering grants based on the added value to the tax base created by a catalyst project.
To help further facilitate economic development, Dallas County provides strategic tax abatements, it participates in tax increment finance (TIF) districts, it nominates projects to the Texas enterprise project program, and it supports the formation of foreign trade zones. In addition, it, along with the Dallas County Hospital District, also offers the freeport tax exemption on goods that leave the State within 175 days.
PACE is 100% financing for energy and water efficiency improvements to industrial, commercial, multi-family residential, and non-profit buildings. PACE is essentially a long-term (typically 10-20 year), low-cost loan for such improvements as:
* HVAC modification or replacement
* Light fixture modifications such as LED
* Solar panels
* High-efficiency windows or doors
* Automated energy control systems
* Insulation, caulking, weather-stripping or air sealing
* Water use efficiency improvements
* Energy- or water-efficient manufacturing processes and/or equipment
* Solar hot water
* Gray water reuse
* Rainwater collection system
Tax Increment Financing (TIF) is defined as a public financing mechanism through which the incremental growth in taxes associated with new development or redevelopment can be captured and used to pay for maintenance and improvements within the district. The area in which TIF is being used is known as a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ).
Tax Code Section 11.251 was adopted as the enabling law. Freeport property includes various types of property that are detained in Texas for a short period of time (175 days or less) to be transported out of Texas. The goods must be in Texas for certain purposes, such as assembly, storage, manufacturing, processing or fabrication. This exemption was proposed to enhance economic development.