TAX NEWS - June 2010

Louisiana Tax: Board approves tax incentives

A state-appointed business board approved more than 300 applications for business tax incentives Tuesday, with beneficiaries ranging from the latest Maxwell's Market on Highland Road to Baton Rouge's biggest industrial presence, ExxonMobil.

About 245 Industrial Tax Exemption contracts were ratified by the Louisiana Board of Commerce and Industry, with the incentives representing tax relief of $158 million based on capital investment of slightly more than $1 billion by the applicants.

Those tax exemptions will leverage 1,152 permanent new jobs with an annual payroll of more than $157 million.

Among the beneficiaries are:

- Exxon Mobil Corp., which will receive $35.2 million in tax breaks for investing $215 million in projects at its chemical, polyolefins and refinery sites in East Baton Rouge Parish.

- Albemarle Corp., gaining $3.52 million in property tax relief for a $21.5 million investment near the ExxonMobil refinery in East Baton Rouge Parish.

- Foster Farms, the Union Parish chicken-processing plant that succeeded Pilgrim's Pride in a state-brokered deal. Foster Farms gained about $1.22 million in property tax breaks based on $12.8 million in capital spending that leveraged 840 jobs.

- Pioneer Americas LLC in St. Gabriel gained nearly $29 million in tax breaks for spending $191 million on expanding a 40-year-old chemical plant.

Smaller firms also gained tax incentives at the board's June meeting.

Among them were the third Maxell's Market retail specialty grocery story.

The market gained a $7,500 state tax break under the Enterprise Zone program for making a $251,000 investment in its Highland Road store.  Hiring 30 people there, Maxwell's is eligible for a $2,500-per-job tax credit based on new employee residency in economically challenged areas.

In all, the board approved 38 Enterprise Zone applications involving $439.4 million in capital investment and generating 708 new permanent jobs.

Among other Enterprise Zone tax breaks were:

- Associated Grocers Inc., in Baton Rouge, which gained $223,000 in tax relief for making a $7.5 million capital investment with 34 new jobs.

- DuPont, which received an investment tax credit of $541,000 on a $72.2 million investment at its Ascension Parish facilities in Burnside. Three jobs were added.

- Target Corp., which built a $14 million store in Hammond, employing 100 people, and received a $208,000 investment tax credit.

The state business board also approved four Quality Jobs incentive applications that totaled $74 million in capital investment tied to 290 new jobs.

In the biggest of those, Blake International USA Rigs LLC in Terrebonne Parish gained a $5.4 million 10-year payroll credit for creating 210 jobs. The company invested $66 million.

Companies who pay above average wages qualify for the Quality Jobs program, which offers a 5 percent to 6 percent payroll rebate.