Business Facilities - January 2008 - (Page 20) pation, trade show exhibition, consultant fees for Web site internationalization, training and workshops (CE Mark, CSA, ISO, etc.). Funds are in the form of a matching grant, with a maximum annual award of $5,000 per company. THE PENNSYLVANIA INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (PIDA) offers lowinterest loan financing through industrial development corporations for land and building acquisition and construction and renovation resulting in the creation or retention of jobs. Businesses eligible for this type of assistance include those involved in manufacturing, research and development, agriculture, and computer/clerical operations. Firms establishing a national or regional headquarters in the state are also eligible. A company must have a 15-year term on land and buildings and no less than a second mortgage on financed assets to qualify for lowinterest loan financing through PIDA. Qualified companies can receive loans up to $2 million, and up to $2.25 million for those companies locating within Enterprise Zones, Act 47 Industrial Communities, Brownfield Sites, and Keystone Opportunity Zones. Loans given will be no more than 30% to 70% of total eligible project costs, based on firm size and unemployment rate. Currently, interest rates on PIDA loans fall between 4.75% or 5.75%, depending upon local unemployment rate; interest rates are subject to change. Projects at Brownfield sites, an Act 47 municipality, Enterprise Zone, or a Keystone Opportunity Zone, as well as advanced technology projects qualify for the lowest interest rate available (currently 4.75%). RHODE ISLAND The INNOVATION TAX CREDIT offers investors up to a 50% credit on eligible investments, with a maximum tax credit of $100,000. To be eligible to apply for the credit, an investor must invest in a Rhode Island business that produces traded goods or services and has annual gross revenues of less than $1 million in the prior two calendar years. Companies must be categorized as one of the following innovation industries: 20 JANUARY 2008 biotechnology and life sciences; communication and information technology; financial services; marine and defense manufacturing; professional, technical and educational services; industrial and consumer product manufacturing and design. The credit may be carried forward for a period not to exceed three years and may be issued in the name of the eligible company, an executive employee or employees of the company, an investor in the company or a combination thereof not to exceed a maximum of 10 executive employees. Investors must apply for the credit prior to making an investment. Once an application is approved, the investor has up to 12 months to make the investment and provide proof of investment back to the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation board of directors. Upon completion of this process, the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation will certify the investor’s eligibility for the credit with the Rhode Island Division of Taxation. PRODUCTION TAX CREDIT: Rhode Island provides a transferable 25% tax credit against the corporate or personal income tax for all certified costs (including salaries) associated with Rhode Island primary locations of feature-length film, video, video games, television series, or commercial. There are no caps on the amount of certified costs that are eligible for the credit. A “primary location” means the locations within which at least 51% of the motion picture principal photography days are filmed. Unused credits can be carried forward for up to three years. The film/TV, commercial, or video game production must be filmed primarily in the state of Rhode Island and have a minimum budget of $300,000. The RHODE ISLAND PORT OF ENTRY ACT, passed in 1997, allows a foreign (non-U.S.) insurance company to become licensed in Rhode Island and, as long as it maintains its base of U.S. operations in Rhode Island, be treated as a Rhode Island domiciled insurance company for the purposes of obtaining licenses in other states. THE JOBS DEVELOPMENT ACT, enacted in 1994, provides an incremental reduction in the corporate income tax rate (currently 9%) to companies that create new employment in the state of Rhode Island over a three-year period. The reduction equals: • A quarter percentage point for every 10 new jobs created, for those companies having a baseline employment below 100; or • A quarter percentage point for every 50 new jobs created, for those companies that have a baseline employment greater than 100. The CORPORATE INCOME TAX taken against a company located in Rhode Island may be reduced to as low as 3%. The rate reduction is permanent as long as the company maintains the same level of employment that it had at the end of the third year following the company’s self-selected base period. New employees must be paid at least 150% of the state minimum wage (the current state minimum wage is $7.40/hour.) This benefit is subject to a finding of revenue neutrality and vote of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation Board. Through the HIGH PERFORMANCE MANUFACTURING INVESTMENT TAX CREDIT highperformance manufacturers are allowed a 10% investment tax credit against their corporate and personal income tax on the cost or qualified lease amounts for tangible personal property or other tangible property, as well as buildings and structural components owned, leased to own, or leased for at least 20 years. Credits are transferable between related entities. Unused credits may be carried forward up to 15 years for biotechnology firms and up to seven years for other types of manufacturers. To meet the definition of a high-performance manufacturer, the firm must be in SIC codes 28, 30, 34 to 36, or SIC 38, and the employer’s median annual wage paid to its full-time equivalent employees must be greater than the average annual wage paid by all Rhode Island employers in the same twodigit SIC code. In addition, the company applying must meet at least one of the following three criteria: • The employer’s median annual wage paid to its full-time equivalent employees is greater than or equal to 125% of the average annual wage paid by all employers in
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.