Page 31 - Hanford Chamber of Commerce: Small Business Startup Toolkit

County Incentive Programs

Businesses locating or expanding in Kings County have access to numerous local, state and federal incen-
tives. Kings EDC sta will help you navigate through this list, focusing on incentives that match your business
model. Incentives include one-stop permitting assistance, waiver or reduction of development/permit fees, a
database on land, buildings, markets, and feedstock, a micro revolving loan fund, and installment payment
of fees.

Recycling Market Development Zone
This program provides attractive loans, technical assistance, and free product marketing to businesses that
use materials from the waste stream to manufacture their products and are located in a designated RMD
zone. The RMDZ loan program can fund a maximum of 75% of costs directly attributed to an eligible project
up to a maximum of $2 million, whichever is less. This bene t is available to all companies in Kings County
that meet the RMDZ criteria.

Kings County Opportunity Zone
The Governor, authorized by the federal tax bill passed at the end of December 2017, is allowed to designate
certain census tracts as Opportunity Zones. Individuals making investments through special funds in these
zones are allowed to defer or eliminate federal taxes on capital gains. The Governor can designate up to 25
percent of census tracts that either have poverty rates of at least 20 percent or median family incomes of no
more than 80 percent of statewide or metropolitan area family income. The Governor designated his full
allotment of 879 qualifying tracts. As census tracts are designed to capture geographic areas of around 4,000
people, more than 3 million Californians would potentially be located in one of these areas. Click on the map
to see the Kings County Opportunity Zone. To determine if your location is within the Kings County Opportu-
nity Zone, please click on the address lookup. Also visit the FAQ page for additional information.

New Employment Credit
The New Employment Credit is available for business located in certain census tracts, as well as the former
Enterprise Zones, that hires a quali ed full-time employee on or after January 1, 2014. A percent of quali ed
wages can be claimed as a tax credit against business income.

California Competes Tax Credit
The Governor’s O ce of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) administers the California Competes
Tax Credit. It is an income tax credit available to businesses that want to locate a new business or stay and
grow in California.

Sales Tax Exemption

The State Board of Equalization administers a partial sales tax exemption to businesses that purchase quali-
ed property. The partial exemption rate is currently 4.1875 percent.

On-the-Job Training
The reimbursement is equal to 50% of average wages for eligible employees during a typical training period
of three to four months, depending on the applicant’s experience and the requirements of the job. If interest-
ed call JTO at (559).585-3532.