The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), serves as California’s single point-of-contact for economic development and job creation efforts, and administers the California Competes Tax Credit program.
In June 2014, the newly formed California Competes Tax Credit Committee approved $28.9 million in tax credits for 29 companies expanding and creating jobs in California. This first set of awards approved by the CCTC Committee are projected to help these companies create almost 6,000 jobs and generate more than $2 billion in investments across California. Awardees included: Samsung Semiconductor, Inc., Petco Animal Supplies, Inc., Amazon Fulfillment Services, Inc., Macy’s.com, Inc., Hyundai Capital America, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp., and iHerb, Inc. Awardees are exempt from paying state income taxes in the amount awarded.
An additional $150 million in tax credits will be allocated for fiscal year 2014-15, and companies not selected in the first round are eligible to reapply once the next application period opens. Projects are evaluated based on the factors required by statute, including total jobs created, total investment, average wage, economic impact, strategic importance and more. A total of 396 companies applied and requested more than $500 million in credits in the prior round.
For fiscal year 2014-2015, GO-Biz will accept applications for the California Competes Tax Credit during the following periods:
-
Sept. 29 – Oct. 27 ($45 million available)
-
Jan. 5 - Feb. 2 ($75 million available)
-
March 9 – April 6 ($31.1 million available plus any unallocated amounts)
The California Competes Tax Credit is part of the Gov. Jerry Brown’s Economic Development Initiative, which he signed legislation to enact last year. The GEDI also includes a hiring credit for areas of high unemployment and poverty that went into effect on Jan. 1, and a sales and use tax exemption for the purchase of manufacturing, biotech and R&D equipment that is available to companies as of July 1.
