September 28, 1999
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Comptroller Rylander Authorizes Business Tax Credits For Most Counties.
(El Paso)--Texas
Comptroller Carole Keeton Rylander today released a list of counties where
businesses can apply for hundreds of millions of dollars in state tax
breaks authorized by the Legislature last session.
"These
incentives will ignite growth across the state, including in El Paso,"
Rylander said. "This is exactly what we need to maintain Texas' position
as a national leader in technology job growth."
Rylander
praised the sponsors -- Senators Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, David Sibley,
R-Waco, Royce West, D-Dallas, and Representatives Brian McCall, R-Plano,
and Rene Oliveira, D-Brownsville. She also hailed the work of Senators
Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville, Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso and Representative
Yvonne Davis, D-Dallas.
"Without
the exceptional efforts of these individuals, this monumental tax break
program would never have seen the light of day," she said.
The
new franchise tax credits include a research credit, a job creation credit,
and an investment credit and will become available to most taxpayers beginning
in 2001. The credits are available for tax reports due on or after January
1, 2000 and are for research conducted, jobs created, or investments made
on or after that date.
"All three tax credits are real and businesses large and small will benefit,"
Rylander said. "The total dollar amount of the tax breaks will depend
on how many businesses take advantage of this tremendous tax credit program."
"My vision for the 21st century is paychecks and jobs for Texans,
limited government, and unlimited opportunity, and these credits fit with
my vision for Texas," she said.
Research Credit
The research credit is available to firms that perform qualified research
in Texas. It is based on the firm's annual increase in research activities
over the prior year.
Four
percent of qualified research expenses will be credited for tax reports
due through the end of 2001, and that credit will increase to 5 percent
for tax reports due from 2002 on.
Job Creation Credit
Companies
that create jobs in selected counties may qualify for a job credit equal
to 25 percent of the wages paid to new hires in their first year of employment.
To qualify, a corporation must create at least 10 jobs, pay at least 110
percent of the county's average weekly wage, pay health benefits and be
engaged in manufacturing, warehousing, wholesale distribution, computer
services or research laboratories.
The
credit is limited to 50 percent of the firm's tax liability in the year
that credits are claimed. Unclaimed credits may be carried over for up
to five years.
Investment Credit
Corporations
that invest at least $500,000 in machinery and equipment can qualify for
a franchise tax credit equal to 7.5 percent of that investment.
This
credit, too, is limited to 50 percent of the firm's tax liability.
Rylander
determined that 224 counties fall wholly or partially in the state Strategic
Investment Areas. "In my most recent 'Texas Economic Update' it is
reported that four of the nation's five poorest metro areas are in Texas
all along the Texas/Mexico border, with El Paso MSA ranked number five
in the nation," she said.
Of
those, 115 counties qualify for full-purpose designation based on their
relative unemployment rate and per-capita income. This designation will
permit firms engaged in manufacturing, warehousing, wholesale distribution,
computer services or research laboratories to apply for job creation,
investment credits, and a research credit bonus.
Another
group of 105 counties qualify only for the limited purpose designation
based on their population. Corporations engaged in agricultural processing
in these counties can apply for the job creation and investment credits.
The
other four -- Dallas, Harris, Bexar, and McLennan counties -- meet the
criteria to qualify for the full-purpose designation based on their selection
as a federal urban enterprise community. Businesses in areas of the counties
in the federally designated zones are eligible for the credits.
"Businesses
should be eager to take advantage of this generous tax credit plan which
will create good paying jobs for hard-working Texans," Rylander said.
Counties
eligible for the full Strategic Investment Areas designation are:
| Anderson
|
Andrews
|
Angelina
|
Aransas
|
Bailey
|
| Baylor
|
Bee
|
Bowie
|
Brazoria
|
Brooks
|
| Brown
|
Calhoun
|
Cameron
|
Camp
|
Cass
|
| Cochran
|
Coleman
|
Cottle
|
Crane
|
Crockett
|
| Crosby
|
Culberson
|
Dawson
|
Deaf Smith
|
Dimmit
|
| Donley
|
Duval
|
Eastland
|
Ector
|
Edwards
|
| El Paso
|
Floyd
|
Freestone
|
Frio
|
Gaines
|
| Galveston
|
Garza
|
Gregg
|
Grimes
|
Hale
|
| Hall
|
Hardeman
|
Hardin
|
Harrison
|
Hidalgo
|
| Hockley
|
Hopkins
|
Howard
|
Hutchinson
|
Jasper
|
| Jefferson
|
Jim Hogg
|
Jim Wells
|
King
|
Kinney
|
| Kleberg
|
Knox
|
Lamar
|
Lamb
|
La Salle
|
| Leon
|
Liberty
|
Limestone
|
McCulloch
|
Marion
|
| Martin
|
Matagorda
|
Maverick
|
Mitchell
|
Morris
|
| Navarro
|
Newton
|
Nolan
|
Nueces
|
Orange
|
| Palo Pinto
|
Panola
|
Pecos
|
Polk
|
Potter
|
| Presidio
|
Reagan
|
Red River
|
Reeves
|
Robertson
|
| Rusk
|
Sabine
|
San Augustine
|
San Patricio
|
Scurry
|
| Shackelford
|
Shelby
|
Smith
|
Somervell
|
Starr
|
| Stonewall
|
Terrell
|
Terry
|
Titus
|
Trinity
|
| Tyler
|
Upshur
|
Upton
|
Uvalde
|
Val Verde
|
| Ward
|
Webb
|
Wharton
|
Willacy
|
Winkler
|
| Wood
|
Yoakum
|
Young
|
Zapata
|
Zavala
|
The 105 counties that qualify for the limited purpose Strategic Investment
Areas designation are:
| Archer
|
Armstrong
|
Atascosa
|
Austin
|
Bandera
|
| Blanco
|
Borden
|
Bosque
|
Brewster
|
Briscoe
|
| Burleson
|
Burnet
|
Caldwell
|
Callahan
|
Carson
|
| Castro
|
Chambers
|
Cherokee
|
Childress
|
Clay
|
| Coke
|
Collingsworth
|
Colorado
|
Comanche
|
Concho
|
| Cooke
|
Dallam
|
Delta
|
DeWitt
|
Dickens
|
| Erath
|
Falls
|
Fannin
|
Fayette
|
Fisher
|
| Foard
|
Franklin
|
Gillespie
|
Glasscock
|
Goliad
|
| Gonzales
|
Gray
|
Hamilton
|
Hansford
|
Hartley
|
| Haskell
|
Hemphill
|
Hill
|
Hood
|
Houston
|
| Hudspeth
|
Irion
|
Jack
|
Jackson
|
Jeff Davis
|
| Jones
|
Karnes
|
Kendall
|
Kenedy
|
Kent
|
| Kerr
|
Kimble
|
Lampasas
|
Lavaca
|
Lee
|
| Lipscomb
|
Live Oak
|
Llano
|
Loving
|
Lynn
|
| McMullen
|
Madison
|
Mason
|
Medina
|
Menard
|
| Milam
|
Mills
|
Montague
|
Moore
|
Motley
|
| Ochiltree
|
Oldham
|
Parmer
|
Rains
|
Real
|
| Refugio
|
Roberts
|
Rockwall
|
Runnels
|
San Jacinto
|
| San Saba
|
Schleicher
|
Sherman
|
Stephens
|
Sterling
|
| Sutton
|
Swisher
|
Throckmorton
|
Van Zandt
|
Waller
|
| Washington
|
Wheeler
|
Wilbarger
|
Wilson
|
Wise
|
Each September, the Comptroller determines the Strategic Investment Areas.
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