How did Tulare County come to be designated as a Business Incentive Zone?
Tulare County and its eight incorporated cities decided to take some action to address our high unemployment in this area. In 1998 we went through a competitive process and we were designated by the state of California as the only targeted tax area in California. So we offer state tax credits for local businesses, for equipment investment, and hiring. What businesses have taken advantage of these tax benefits? The program is great because we offer incentives to businesses large and small, as long as they are involved in manufacturing, distribution, transportation kinds of business activity. So we can work with existing businesses that have been here for a long time, or new businesses coming to the area. So we’ve worked with large stores like Joann stores, that has a big distribution center here in Tulare County. And we’ve worked with very small companies who have hired maybe just one new employee and they’ve taken advantage of the tax credit. Why did you target those particular industr
