Reworked tax bill expands incentives

The Legislature's Workforce Services and Community and Economic Development Interim Committee will get another look today at a bill supporters believe will boost economic development in the state.

A few committee members last month questioned whether the bill would hurt existing businesses. The Utah Technology Commission and Utah Technology Industry Council, at a joint meeting Tuesday, backed a new version of the bill, although the changes may not assuage interim committee members.

The state has had in place a program providing tax rebates to job-creating companies locating in aerospace and aviation development zones near airports. The draft legislation would expand the program statewide.

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Brad Dee, R-Washington Terrace, said Tuesday that among the changes are one eliminating a requirement that, to get state funding, companies would have to be in zones near significant transportation corridors and hubs, including mass transit, rail, airports or interstate highways.

"We removed that for rural Utah," he said, noting that the bill now says an economic development zone must be in an area "zoned commercial, industrial, manufacturing, business park, research park or other appropriate use in a community-approved master plan."

"I do appreciate you considering the fact that it's a little more applicable now to the entire state," said technology commission chairwoman Sen. Beverly Evans, R-Altamont.

Some Workforce Services committee members in October wondered if existing Utah businesses would be hurt if an out-of-state, competing company used the new incentive to enter Utah. Supporters of the bill countered that those businesses typically compete nationally already, and the question is whether Utah would get the incoming company's job growth or if it would go to another state.

The new incentive would not apply to companies that merely shifted jobs from one part of Utah to another. They also would have to add jobs above their baseline count of existing jobs. And, to get the new incentive, they would not be eligible for more money from the state Industrial Assistance Fund.

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