CLICK HERE to download the Dalton Whitfield Local Incentive Policy

Considering a business move or expansion? Dalton and Whitfield County now offer local incentives to companies meeting specific criteria. For more information or to determine your company's eligibility for local incentives, please click here: Incentives@DaltonGrows.Biz

GEORGIA BUSINESS INCENTIVES

The State of Georgia provides the following business incentives to companies relocating to cities and counties in Georgia

Job Tax Credit

This credit applies to businesses or headquarters of a business engaged in manufacturing, warehousing and distribution, processing, tourism, or research and development industries: it does not include retail businesses. When your company creates 15 or more new jobs, you can receive a $1,750 tax credit for 5 years for each new job created. To be eligible, the company must also:

  • provide an average wage that is 10% higher than the average wage in the lowest Georgia County ($356 in 2003)
  • make comparable health insurance available to new employees

Credits are allowed for each full-time employee job for five years beginning with years two through six after the creation of the job. Each credit cannot be more than 50% of the taxpayer's total state income tax liability for that taxable year. A credit claimed but not used in any taxable year may be carried forward for 10 years from the close of the taxable year in which the qualified jobs were established.

Special Headquarters Tax Credit

Provides a special job tax credit for new corporate headquarters facilities that employ 50 or more persons in new full-time jobs and incur, within one year, a minimum of $1 million in the state in construction, renovation, leasing or other costs related to such establishment or relocation. . ["Headquarters" means the principal central administrative office of any taxpayer or their subsidiary.]

The tax credit will be:

  • $3,000 per new full-time job when the average wages of these jobs are at least 10% over the current average wage of the county in which the job is located
  • $5,000 when the average wages of these jobs are 200% or more of the average wage of the county

This credit may be taken for the first five years of the new job, and is available for jobs created in the first seven years from the close of the taxable year in which the taxpayer first becomes eligible. Where the credit exceeds a taxpayer's liability for such taxes, the excess may be taken as a credit against the taxpayer's quarterly or monthly payments. Unused tax credits may be carried forward for 10 years.

Child Care Tax Credit

Employers who provide or sponsor childcare for full or part-time employees are eligible for a tax credit of 75% of the direct cost of operation to the employer less any payments made to the employer.

The credit cannot exceed more than 50% of the taxpayer's total state income tax liability for that taxable year. Any credit claimed but not used in any taxable year may be carried forward for five years from the close of the taxable year in which the cost of the operation was incurred.

Also available is a credit that allows you to deduct 10% of the cost of building/equipping a day care facility over 10 years (100%).

Computer Equipment Sales Tax Exemption

Computer equipment purchased or leased after January 1, 2001 for use in a Georgia high-technology company, and exceeding the annual threshold of $15 million will be exempt from sales and use tax. High-technology companies are specified as those with SIC 3674, 4812-4813, 4822, 7371-7379, 8711, or 8721-8733.

The term "computer equipment" means any individual terminal or organized assembly of hardware, including but not limited to:

  • Central processing units
  • Scanners
  • Printers
  • Electronic data storage devices
  • Memory chips
  • Data transmission equipment
  • Software products including operating systems and library and maintenance routines
  • Other related peripheral equipment

Pollution Equipment Tax Exemption

If a piece of new or replacement equipment has as its primary purpose air or water pollution control, you may receive both sales tax and property tax exemptions. First, submit the appropriate paperwork to the Department of Revenue for sales tax exemption approval. The Department's approval will then entitle you to property tax exemption for that equipment.

Primary Materials Handling Sales Tax Exemption

Purchases of equipment used directly for the handling and movement of tangible personal property in a new or expanding warehouse or distribution facility are exempt from sales and use tax. The facility or expansion must be worth $5 million or more and not used in direct retail sales.

Manufacturing Machinery Sales Tax Exemption

Machinery that is purchased or leased for direct use in manufacturing tangible personal property is exempt from sales and use tax when the machinery is:

  • Incorporated the first time into a new manufacturing plant located in this state
  • Bought to replace or upgrade machinery in a manufacturing plant presently existing in the state
  • Incorporated as additional machinery for the first time into a manufacturing plant presently existing in this state
  • Incorporated into and used in the construction or operation of a clean room of class 100 or less, provided that such clean room is used directly in the manufacture of tangible personal property (does not include the building or any permanent, non-removable component of the building that houses such clean room)
  • Incorporated into any telecommunications manufacturing facility and used for the primary purpose of improving air quality in advanced technology clean rooms of class 100 or less, provided such clean rooms are used directly in the manufacture of tangible personal property

Additional exemptions include:

  • Machinery purchased, or leased, to be used directly in the remanufacture of aircraft engines, parts and components on a factory basis
  • Tangible personal property consumed in the performance of a contract between the US Government and a contractor employing 500 or more full-time employees engaged in manufacturing
  • Replacement or repair parts that restore the machinery to its original condition or does not upgrade machinery that is used directly in the manufacture of tangible personal property at an existing manufacturing plant. Such term shall not include spare parts purchased with machinery that is incorporated into a new plant. This will be phased-in over 5 years at 20% increases per year, from 2001 at 20% until completely exempted in 2005. This exemption applies to the first $150,000 of the sales price of each replacement or part, regardless of the method of invoicing or billing.

If machinery qualified for exemption is being purchased or leased for expansion of an existing manufacturing plant, the additional machinery will qualify for exemption if its acquisition results in a minimum increase in the productive capacity of the plant of 15%. The purchaser or lessee shall maintain sufficient records to substantiate the increase in plant productive capacity showing the production year immediately preceding the installation of the additional machinery and for the year immediately following completion of such installation.

Tax Exempt Industrial Revenue Bond (IRBs)

The Dalton-Whitfield Economic Development Authority is authorized to issue both tax exempt and taxable industrial revenue bonds for projects that meet state and federal laws. It is a means of conduit financing that often provides the user with lower interest rates and allows for a negotiated investment payment in lieu of taxes. Technically, the Development Authority retains title to the property and improvements for the life of the bond and leases the project to the user. Current tax rates for investment grade projects are as low as 1.48% tax-exempt floater; taxable rates are 1.86%.

Intellectual Capital Partnership Program (ICAPP)

The programs of ICAPP provide one-stop entry to the intellectual capital of the University System of Georgia - its education programs, faculty expertise, and research and development facilities. ICAPP Advantage is a direct economic development incentive that helps companies meet immediate human resources needs. Through this program, Georgia's public colleges and universities can expedite the education of highly skilled workers to meet specific work force needs. Companies specify the knowledge areas to be taught, then recruit and select the participants they will sponsor to be educated in those skills. These programs can be funded through the HOPE Scholarship program (http://www.peachnet.edu).

The Hope Scholarship and Hope Grant

  • Degree Program
    Through the HOPE Scholarship, Georgia provides tuition, mandatory fees, and a $100 book allowance at a Georgia public college, technical school, or university for students who are residents of Georgia and who have completed high school since 1993 with a "B" average or better. Students must maintain the "B" average in college. HOPE also provides $3,000 per academic school year for eligible students attending a private college or university and an additional $1,000 in Tuition Equalizations Grants per year.
  • Diploma Program
    Through the HOPE Grant, any Georgia resident is eligible for 95 quarter hours of tuition-paid diploma and certificate programs at a state technical college. This also includes the payment of Hope-approved mandatory fees and a book allowance of up to $100 per quarter directly to the technical college. Georgia residents may receive a Hope Grant regardless of high school graduation date or grade average. Full-time enrollment is not required, but the student must be making "satisfactory academic progress" to maintain eligibility. If a student's basic skills (math, writing, and reading) are not up to a 10th grade level, the program automatically enters them into a county-sponsored program to upgrade those skills.

Workforce Screening

The local office of the Georgia Department of Labor will recruit, screen, and refer applicants free of charge to your specifications. These tasks can significantly cut your Human Resource department's time involved in adding new hires.

Workforce Training through Quick Start

Quick Start, part of the Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education, is recognized internationally as one of the most effective and responsive training organizations in the country.
Quick-Start's Pre-Employment Training is designed to assist companies in obtaining the most qualified work force possible. The process provides a unique opportunity for your company and your potential employees to assess one another...before employment is offered. This applicant screening process is a coordinated effort among your company, the Georgia Department of Labor and Quick Start. The screening, training, and manuals are provided in most cases at no cost to you. Initial and on-going training is also included. This is typically available for 25 or more positions with similar skill sets.


CLICK HERE to download the
Dalton Whitfield Local Incentive Policy