The corporate perspective on state and local incentives in North America

Abstract

For many corporations, relocating their facilities can provide significant cost savings while improving productivity. This paper focuses on state and local incentives as one critical aspect of the relocation process. The quality and quantity of incentives vary considerably from state to state and community to community across North America. Incentives can include tax abatements and refunds, forgivable loans, job training, cash grants, free or reduced-cost buildings and land, infrastructure improvements, accelerated permitting, and other programmes that are limited only by the imagination of those attempting to attract employers by addressing their individual needs, Many of the statutory programmes can be complicated with extensive applications, documentation and, in some cases, political red tape that varies with each state and agencies within a state. In spite of these complications incentives can provide a very significant reduction in the start-up or expansion costs of a corporation's operations. A well-negotiated and documented set of incentives can assure that all the parties will fulfil their obligations.