SDCTA Supports Enterprise Zones and Proposed Reforms
The Enterprise Zone program is one of the few economic development tools available to attract, retain, and expand local businesses. SDCTA supports Enterprise Zones and several of the currently proposed amendments that limit abuse and increase the effectiveness of the program. As written, the proposed administrative reforms create much needed accountability measures that would only be able to measure the decreased effectiveness of a diluted program. The proposed reforms effectively eliminate the "Economically Disadvantaged" category that currently provides incentives for hiring the poor, and lessens the window for businesses to apply for tax credits to an unnecessarily short period. SDCTA believes the Association's recommended amendments to the proposed reforms will allow the program to continue to target the "working poor" while largely maintaining the effectiveness of the program and increasing accountability and transparency.