Page Title

Mississippi Incentive Programs

1.        Job Tax Credits
2.        National or Regional Headquarters
3.        Research and Development Jobs
4.        Basic Skills Training or Retraining Tax Credits

Basically these programs provide in various dollar and percentage
amounts a portion that can be credited against the company’s state
income tax liability not to exceed 50 % of the liability.

All these programs, while impressive incentives, do not nearly equal the
benefits gained by a company locating in a GAP (Growth and Prosperity
Act) designated community such as Tylertown and Walthall County and
being certified as a GAP company.

A GAP designated company locating in WALTHALL COUNTY is
eligible for the following for a period of 10 years:
1.        100% EXEMPTION from the company’s STATE INCOME TAX.
2.        100% EXEMPTION from the company’s STATE FRANCHISE
TAX.
3.        100% exemption from STATE SALES TAX and USE TAX for
any building material or equipment including but not limited to
equipment, furniture and fixtures, computers, and even supplies
for the initial start-up but will not cover supplies on an on going
basis.
4.        EXEMPTION from all LOCAL PROPERTY TAX and PERSONAL
PROPERTY TAX excluding the portion designated for the schools,
fire, and police protection.

Just the first portion is at the very least twice as much as all the other
state incentives combined.

Additionally, many companies would likely qualify for another program
under the Advantage Mississippi Initiative, the Advantage Jobs Incentive
Program.   If an employer pays 125% of or greater than the average
Walthall County wage* (and, this can include bonuses, overtime, and
salaried personnel), the company will qualify for a rebate of a
percentage of payroll dollars quarterly from the state tax commission.

On the front end, the state establishes a percentage based on how
much of an amount the company will be paying above the average
wage. This starts in the 5th quarter of operation and the state tax
commission will pay the company this percentage of the entire quarter’s
payroll amount.

Additionally, although with the GAP designation your company will not
need this for 10 years, the company can be identified as a Freeport
Warehouse facility. This exempts the company after the 10th year for
property tax for the portion of the inventory that is finished goods
awaiting shipment out of the state of Mississippi.

*$ 20,066.00 is the 2003 average annual wage for Walthall County from
the Mississippi Employment Security Commission.