Cass County Finance Programs

Enterprise Zones
To qualify for benefits, a business must have an average wage of $9.66, create at least 10 full-time positions, not be a retail business, pay at least 80% of standard medical and dental insurance and make a capital investment of at least $500,000. Businesses locating to the Enterprise Zone areas qualify for the following:

·         Rural Business Enterprise Grant (RBEG) Loan
A revolving loan fund is available for new and expanding businesses in Cass County.  A loan committee will review loan applications in confidence with some basic criteria.  Some guidelines are fewer than 50 employees and an adjusted gross income of less than $1 million. The loan program will be very flexible depending on the applicant’s needs.  The moneys are intended to be a part of a finance package working with other lending sources. 

·         Tax Abatement
The County will exempt from property taxation of the newly added value of: 75% in Year 1, 60% in Year 2, 45% in Year 3, 30% in Year 4, 15% in Year 5.

·         Investment Tax Credit
A business may claim an investment tax credits on its Iowa corporate income tax return for up to a maximum of 10 percent of the new investment. Any credit in excess of tax liability for the tax year may be credited to the tax liability for the following 7 years or until depleted whichever occurs first.  The capital expenditures eligible for the investment tax credit under the enterprise zone program are the costs of machinery and equipment used in the operation of the eligible business and the cost of improvements to real property, which is used in the operation of the business.

·         Research Activities Credit
A business is eligible to claim a research activities credit for a period of 10 years from the date the business's application was approved by the department. This credit equals 6.5% of the state's apportioned share of the qualifying expenditures for increasing research activities.
Any tax credit in excess of the tax liability shall be refunded to the eligible business with interest computed. In lieu of claiming a refund, the eligible business may elect to have the overpayment credited to its tax liability for the following year.

·         Refund of Sales, Service and Use Taxes
A business is eligible for a refund of sales, service and use taxes paid to contractors and subcontractors relating to the construction or equipping of a facility within the enterprise zone. Taxes attributable to intangible property and furniture and furnishings shall not be refunded.

·         New Jobs Training Supplemental Credit
A supplemental new jobs credit from withholding in an amount equal to 1.5% of the gross wages paid by the business is available. The supplemental new jobs credit is in addition to and not in lieu of the program and withholding credit of 1.5% authorized under the Iowa New Jobs Training Program.

Atlantic Revolving Loan Fund
A low interest loan of up to $2,000 per FTE job generated. The loan will be at 3% for up to 3 years. (To be used only when locating in Atlantic.)

Grow Iowa Foundation - Visit Their Website
A low interest loan not to exceed 50% of a project or $125,000.00, whichever is less. Rates will vary depending on the length of the loan, but not more than 10 years.

State of Iowa Programs

Community Economic Betterment Account (CEBA)/Economic Development Set-Aside (EDSA)
The Community Economic Betterment Account program can provide financial assistance to businesses that require assistance in order to create new job opportunities or retain existing jobs which are in jeopardy. Projects eligible for CEBA funding include, but are not limited to, the following: building construction or reconstruction, acquisition of land, equipment purchases, operating and maintenance expenses and site preparation.

These funds are customarily divided between forgivable loans, low-interest loans and no-interest loans. Jobs must pay a wage of $10.73 to qualify in Cass County.  Usually $2,000.00 – 3,000.00/job created.

New Jobs and Income Program
The Iowa New Jobs and Income Program provides a package of tax credits and exemptions to businesses making a capital investment of at least $11,414,000.00 and creating 50 or more jobs meeting wage and benefit targets within five years. Jobs created in Cass County must have a median wage for new production jobs of $13.95 per hour and pay at least 80% of health and dental insurance. This along with other criteria make the business eligible for an additional 1.5% withholding tax credit to the business's job-training program; an investment tax credit on Iowa corporate income tax that can be carried forward up to 7 years; an additional 6.5% credit for research and development activity that can be carried forward 7 years and local property tax exemption on all or a portion of the value added by improvements to real estate for a period up to 20 years.

New Jobs Training Program Tax Credit
Businesses entering into an agreement under the state's training program and increasing their work force by at least 10% may qualify for this credit on their Iowa corporate income tax. The credit for 2005 is $1,152 per new employee. The tax credit can be carried forward up to 10 years.

Tax Increment Financing

Cities and counties have designated areas that your business could be eligible for public improvement financing that uses the additional or incremental taxes that the project will generate to help finance the cost of the project.

Job Training – Applied through the Community College
Iowa's unique job-training programs can provide any training services required by a business for new employees. The Iowa New Jobs Training program provides funds for:

Screening, skills assessment and testing.

Travel for new employees to training, anywhere in the world.

On-the-job training reimbursement of 50% of the new employees' wages and fringe benefits during the training period.

In-plant instruction by company instructors.

Costs of training facilities, equipment, materials and supplies.

The Iowa New Jobs Training Program provides customized classroom instruction, on-the-job training and other training activities for employees in newly created jobs. All training is tailored to the company's special needs. The amount per employee varies depending on the wage to be paid. Traditionally the amount is approximately $2,000 - $2,500 per job.