State of Colorado Launches New Tax Holiday

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - Jan. 15, 2016 - PRLog -- In his annual State of the State address yesterday, Gov. John Hickenlooper proclaimed Mesa County Colorado’s first “Rural Jump-Start Zone”, enacting Senate Bill 15-282.  The initiative, led by the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT), will establish tax-free zones in rural areas across the State of Colorado to encourage new business and job growth.

“It's exhilarating to know that we are the first and currently only county in the state and nation that can offer this type of robust tax holiday to businesses,” said Kristi Pollard, executive director of the Grand Junction Economic Partnership (GJEP), which will help new and expanding businesses navigate the new tax credit. Six companies have approached GJEP to begin the application process and, per Gov. Hickenlooper, three are already a shoe-in (OEDIT will officially accept applications starting January 19):

“Three companies — Colorado Clean, TSW Analytics and ProStar Geocorp — have already applied,” said Gov. Hickenlooper in his address.  “We look forward to working with them, and with Colorado Mesa University President, Tim Foster… to enhance the competitiveness of Colorado's rural communities.”

Jump-Start is a joint effort between counties, municipalities, higher education institutions and business communities in the state of Colorado to grow jobs in industries such as advanced manufacturing, aviation, food processing, biotech and other technologies.

The Jump-Start Program requires businesses to create a minimum of five net new jobs in Mesa County in exchange for relief from Colorado state income and sales & use taxes; county and municipal personal property taxes; and state income taxes for their employees for up to eight years. Additional requirements for businesses include that the core function of the business cannot compete with existing businesses in the state, and the business must establish a relationship with Colorado Mesa University, as the official higher education institution sponsor of the program.

  To further enhance the program, Mesa County’s local jurisdictions added a number of other local tax incentives to the program. For more information about the Rural Jump-Start Zone Tax Credit Program in Colorado’s Mesa County, contact GJEP at tel. (970) 245-4332, or visit: www.jumpstartmesaco.com.