Business incentives OK'd

Also Friday, the board reworked an incentive for Cephalon to expand and add 365 full-time jobs at its Salt Lake operations. The Pennsylvania-based drug developer, manufacturer and marketer received IAF approval for $2.1 million in early 2004 but ran into delays in getting the expansion going. The board on Friday switched the incentive to a tax rebate of up to $2.1 million.

Cephalon's expansion would include a 195,000-square-foot manufacturing facility. To get the rebate, Cephalon's new jobs would have to pay at least twice the county median. It says the projected wages would be $63,570, which would meet that threshold.

The expansion is expected to provide $24.55 million in new state tax revenues over a 10-year period.

The board also approved, with two "no" votes and one abstention, IAF funding of $250,000 for the University Student Investment Program. Up to four institutions would participate in the program by establishing funds through which students learn business skills by making investment decisions.

The approval features $50,000 for administrative startup costs and $200,000 to seed four funds of $50,000 in various locations in the state.

The board also approved three motion picture incentives:

• Up to $250,000 to Salty Pictures Inc., which is making "Halloween Town 4" for the Disney Channel. More than half of the film's total budget of more than $5 million will be spent in Utah.

• Up to $175,000 for The Last Sin Eater LLC, which is creating a film of the same name for theatrical and DVD release. About 93 percent of the film's $1.9 million budget will be spent in Utah.

• Up to $250,000 to Go Films, which is creating an as-yet-untitled feature film. Seventy-seven percent of its $4.5 million budget is expected to be spent in Utah.

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E-mail: bwallace@desnews.com