To further stimulate economic development, the Office of Economic Development (OED), under the direction of Economic Development Coordinator Teena Rasmussen, is spreading the word about its Enterprise Zones (EZ) program, a joint state-county effort intended to stimulate-via tax and other incentives-certain types of business activity, job preservation, and job creation in areas where they are most appropriate or most needed.

If a business (or a branch of a business) is eligible and is located in an Enterprise Zone Mayor (EZ), the business can reduce its state taxes and receive other county benefits for up to seven years by satisfying the EZ hiring and gross receipts requirements.

The State provides incentives for businesses which satisfy all requirements; these incentives gradually phase themselves out over a 7 year period of time. There is an exemption from the General Excise Tax (GET) and Use Tax every year. There is an 80% reduction of state income tax the first year and an additional income tax reduction equal to 80% of annual Unemployment Insurance premiums the first year.

There are also additional county incentives that include priority permit processing, zoning or building permit waivers or variances, property tax adjustments and priority consideration for federal job training or community development funds.

For more information see www.http://hawaii.gov/dbedt/ programs/ez/ or to apply please contact Ipo Mossman at 270-8238 or ipo.mossman@ mauicounty.gov