Dec 28, 2017 | Advocacy
Federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (HR 1): While efforts to cut taxes and encourage job growth are generally applauded, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act caused great concern for economic development professionals due to proposed negative treatment of Private Activity Bonds, Advance Refunding Bonds, Historic Preservation Tax Credits (HPTC) and New Markets Tax Credits. The bill was finalized December 20 and sent to President Trump for signature. Luckily, the main provisions of these programs were preserved but slight revisions were made that will be further studied. For example, a tweak to HPTC in the final bill repeals the 10% non-historic rehabilitation tax credit for non-residential pre-1936 properties, subject to transition rules. Credits from the HPTC program also apparently will now have to be used over 5 years. The centerpiece of the tax bill is a permanent 40% tax cut for corporations. Small businesses will also see their taxes shrink. The bill also lowers tax rates for individuals temporarily, while increasing the standard deduction and the child tax credit. However, because the bill also limits key tax deductions (example: reduction in deductions for state and local taxes), the impact on individuals will vary.
Dec 28, 2017 | Advocacy
Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree: The final day of legislative session in Ohio was Wednesday, December 13, and true to form, the legislature chose several bills to serve as year-end “Christmas Tree” bills, so-called due to their being loaded with amendments (versus ornaments). HB 69, which mainly deals with amendments to Ohio’s TIF program (see below) was heavily loaded and passed through the full Senate early Wednesday. Later in the day, the House concurred in the amendments and approved the bill, and has been sent to Governor Kasich for signature. Major amendments added to HB 69 included the following:
Dec 21, 2017 | News, Newsletter
Representatives of the Ohio Analytics data partnership were happy to have the opportunity to present to the Ohio Economic Development Association’s membership at its fall conference in October. Ryan Burgess, Director of the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation, Keith Ewald, Project Manager for the Office of Workforce Development and Joshua Hawley, Director of the Ohio Education Research Center at The Ohio State University, presented a panel discussion, “Tapping into Data for Workforce Success” that talked about the state’s innovative data partnership, Ohio Analytics, and how the partnership is responding to business needs and workforce goals by creating research products and tools that support business and economic development.
Dec 21, 2017 | News, Newsletter
A year after breaking ground, United Grinding North America Inc. has officially opened the doors of its new 110,000-square-foot headquarters with a recent ribbon-cutting event. The building brings the company’s cylindrical, surface and profile grinding business units, as well as its automation and rebuilding departments, from its existing offices in Miamisburg, Ohio, together with the staff from its tool and cutter grinding machines and measurement systems sectors who were formerly located in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Dec 21, 2017 | News, Newsletter
When our team here at JobsOhio determined that we wanted to serve as a catalyst for more corporate innovation, we introduced the JobsOhio Research & Development Center Grant Program in June 2016. This proactive grant program provides qualified companies with an incentive to establish new R&D centers in Ohio and positions the state favorably to win production facilities after R&D products and services are commercialized.
