Greg: This is PKF Texas, the Entrepreneur’s Playbook. I’m Greg Price, Director of Consulting Solutions, and I’m here again with Mark Scimemi, our Director of State and Local Tax at PKF Texas. So Mark, welcome back to the Playbook.
Mark: Thank you, Greg.
Greg: So Mark, I’ve heard a topic talked about and bantered about in the office called the Texas Enterprise Zone Program. Can you tell us a little bit about it?
Mark: Sure. The Texas Enterprise Zone Program rewards capital investment and job creation, or job retention, with a refund of state sales tax.
Greg: So how does that work exactly?
Mark: If you’re a business that’s going to have capital investment of $5 million or more over a five-year period, and you have a significant number of employees, either that you’re going to retain, a current workforce, or hire a future workforce, then this incentive is for you. It will give you $2,500 per employee, up to 500 employees. So potentially a $1.2 million benefit.
Greg: Fantastic. So is there anything special about this that people need to know about?
Mark: Yes, there’s a two-part application. You get the support of your local community, and you’re sponsored either by your city council, or by the county that you’re in, and then you file an application with the governor’s office. We assist clients on doing both of those things. It’s typically a bit more than they’re used to doing, so we help them take care both sides of that.
Greg: So Mark, how do companies take advantage of this program?
Mark: Honestly, Greg, companies hire outside advisors and consultants to handle this. I’ve worked with some of the largest companies in Houston. Those firms have found it difficult to handle this in house, and so it just makes it so much easier to outsource this and to bring in someone who does it all the time.
Greg: Fantastic. Well, I can see why we consider you one of our top consultants on the Texas Enterprise Work Zone Program.
Mark: Thanks, Greg.
Greg: All right, we’ll have you back to talk about it more sometime in the future. This has been another Thought Leader production, brought to you by PKF Texas, the Entrepreneur’s Playbook. Tune in next week for another chapter, and if you need assistance with the Texas Enterprise Work Zone Program, go to www.pkftexas.com and look for Mark Scimemi.