Businessa d v a n t a g e s

Business Factors For a Brighter Forecast

companies doing business in iowa enjoy one of the nation’s most business-friendly economic climates. the proof is in the numbers.

•IowahasthelowestcostofdoingbusinessintheUnitedStates America’s Top States for Business, CNBC 2009

•Iowabusinesscontributionstofamilyhealthinsuranceplansare25percentbelowtheU.S.average Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation 2008

•Iowa’saverageindustrialelectricitycostperkWhis30percentbelowtheU.S.average U.S. Energy Information Administration 2009

•Iowa’saverageleaseratesforindustrialspaceare25percentbelowtheU.S.average 2009 NAI Global

•Iowa’sconstructioncostsforindustrialspaceare23percentbelowtheU.S.average 2009 RSMeans

Iowa’s business climate has never been more favorable. With the lowest cost of doing business, companies operating

in Iowa benefit from a business-friendly state government, technology transfer from world-renowned research universities,

askilledandproductivelaborpoolandacentralizedgeographicallocation.Followingisabriefdescriptionofthemanybusiness

advantagescompaniesenjoyinIowa.Formoreinformation,pleasevisitusonlineatwww.iowalifechanging.com or contact us

anytimeat1.800.245.4692.

DO BUSINESS WHERE good things ARE GROWING

IOWA’S key BUSINESS ADVANTAGESIowa Corporate Income Tax

a number of features of iowa’s corporate income tax offer significant advantages,including:

•50percentdeductibilityoffederaltaxesfromIowacorporate income.

•Single-factor,non-unitarytax—Iowa’staxisbasedonlyonthe percentage of total sales income within the state.

•Iowacorporateincometaxmaybereducedoreliminatedby the high Quality Jobs program or enterprise Zone benefits.

No Personal Property Tax

Personalpropertyisnotassessedfortaxpurposes.InIowa, personalpropertyincludescorporateinventoriesofgoods-in-process, raw materials and salable goods.

No Sales and Use Tax on Industrial Machinery and Equipment Purchases

Thepurchaseofindustrialmachinery,equipmentandcomputersusedformanufacturingorusedtoprocessdatabyinsurancecompanies,financialinstitutions,orcertaincommercialenterprises,isexemptfromIowasalesorusetax.Inaddition,thereisnosalestaxonmaterialsused in the manufacturing process or for purchases of electricity or natural gas used directly in the manufacturing process.

No Property Tax on New Industrial Machinery and Equipment

Industrialmachinery,equipmentandcomputersareexempt from property tax.

Research and Development Tax Credit

Arefundablecreditforincreasingresearchactivitiesisupto 6.5percentofthecompany’sallottedshareofqualifyingresearch expendituresinIowa.Acompanymustmeetthequalificationsof thefederalresearchactivitiescreditinordertobeeligibleforthecreditontheIowareturn.Companiesapprovedforexpansioninanenterprise Zone or under the high Quality Jobs program may be eligiblefortheamountofthetaxcredittobedoubledforqualifyingresearchanddevelopmentactivities.

Local Property Tax Incentives

iowa law allows cities and counties to abate local property taxes for improvingindustrialrealestate.Themostcommonamountofactualvalueaddedataneworexpandedfacility,whichiseligibletoexemptfromtaxation,isasfollows:

Othertypesandtermsoflocalpropertytaxincentivesareavailable. Citycouncilsorcountyboardsofsupervisorsmayusetheproperty taxesresultingfromtheincreaseintaxablevaluationcausedby theconstructionofnewindustrialorcommercialfacilitiestoprovide economicdevelopmentincentivestoabusinessorindustry.Tax increment Financing may be used to offset the cost of public improvementsandutilitiesthatwillservethenewprivatedevelopment, tofinancedirectgrantsorloanstoacompany,ortoprovidethelocalmatchforfederalorstateeconomicdevelopmentassistanceprograms.

Workers’ Compensation

Iowa’sworkers’compensationcostsareamongthenation’slowest. Theaveragecostofworkers’compensationinsuranceformanufacturersinIowais28percentlowerthanthenationalaverage.Iowalaw providesforemployerchoiceofdoctor.

Unemployment Insurance

iowa has one of the lowest new employer unemployment insurance ratesinthenation.In2008,therateforallnewnon-construction businesses is one percent.

Regulatory Assistance

TheRegulatoryAssistanceProgramenhancestherangeofservices availabletoIowacompaniesbyadvisingandassistingcompaniesin the preparation and submission of permit applications with the iowa Department of natural resources (iDnr) and other iowa regulatory agencies. the purpose of the regulatory assistance Program is to facilitate communication between the business and regulators and to expedite the permitting process.

Year One:

75%Year twO:

60%Year three:

45%Year FOur:

30%Year Five:

15%

Iowais10thinthenationinamountoffundingpercapitaforResearch•andDevelopmentattheacademiclevel(Development Report Card for the States 2007)

IowaranksastheninthSmartestStateinthenationfromthe2006-2007•SmartestStateAwards.Theawardisbasedon21factors(Morgan Quitno’s Education State Rankings 2006-2007)

Iowahasthesecondhighestlaborparticipationrateinthecountry.78.9•percent of the population is in the labor force (U.S. Census Bureau 2008)

Davenport-Moline-RockIsland,DesMoines,andOmaha-CouncilBluffs•arelistedasfive-starlogisticsmetros(Logistics Quotient -Expansion Management 2007)

AllnineofIowa’smetrosarelistedasFive-StarcommunitiesforQuality•of Life (Quality of Life Quotient-Expansion Management 2007)

AllnineofIowa’slargestcommunitiesrankedasBestPlacesfor•Business (Forbes Magazine 2009)

IowaranksfirstintheMidwestintermsofvalue-addedper•manufacturingworker(U.S. Census Bureau 2006)

Iowaisrankedsecondnationallyintermsoftheimportanceof•manufacturing to the state’s economy (Bureau of Economic Analysis 2008)

Thestateishometo32ofthe100largestfoodmanufacturers •in the world (Food Processing Magazine 2008)

Iowa’sinsuranceindustryranksthirdhighestinthenationinterms •of importance to the state’s gDP (Bureau of Economic Analysis 2007)

Iowahastheseventhhighestnumberofscienceandengineering•degreesawardedper100,000residents(National Science Foundation Science and Engineering Indicators 2008)

IOWA. PERFECTLY positioned IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

Technical Assistance

AmongIDED’smanyareasoftechnicalsupportiscomprehensivemanagementassistance;technicalandfinancialassistancefor

high-growthentrepreneurialventures;assistancefordevelopingandexpandingexports;assistanceforinternationalcompaniesinterested

inlocatinginIowa;andassistanceforIowabusinessesconsideringexpansionandthecreationofnewjobs.

Financial Assistance Programs

IowaoffersanarrayoffinancialinvestmentprogramsspecificallydesignedtopromotegrowthandprofitabilityforIowacompanies

whilecreatingqualityjobopportunitiesforIowans.LooktoIDEDtohelpyouidentifythemostappropriateassistanceprogramsforyourneeds.

Wewillcoordinateandadministertheseprogramsandhelpyouthroughouttheapplicationprocess.

Training and Support

Iowa’sworkforcetrainingprogramshaveevolvedfromabusinessexpansionincentivetoolintoacomprehensive,targetedhumanresource

initiativeavailabletoallIowabusinesses.TheIDEDworksinpartnershipwithpublic/privateserviceprovidersandotherstateagenciesto

activelypromotenewemployeetraining,incumbentworkerpreparation,lifelonglearning,anddevelopmentandexpansionofthestate’slabor

pool.TheseeffortshelpkeepIowa’sbusinessescompetitiveandsuccessfullyoperatinginthestate.

Confidential Location Reviews

TheIDEDisheretooffersitelocationassistancetobusinessesconsideringIowa.Wewillassistwithconfidentiallocationreviewsand

workwithlocaleconomicdevelopmentorganizationstohelpcompaniesfindtherightsitetomeettheircompany’sneeds.

Formoreinformation,onhowIDEDcanassistyourcompany,pleasevisitonlineatwww.iowalifechanging.com or contact us anytime

at 1.800.245.4692.

THE IOWA DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT is here to help

ItisthemissionoftheIowaDepartmentofEconomicDevelopment(IDED)toworkwithbusinessesandcommunitiestobolsterIowa’s

economyandpositionthestateforgrowthintheneweconomy.IDEDcanassistyourcompanybyproviding:

THE CLOSER YOU LOOK, THE MORE IOWA grows ON YOUFind out why iowa is the right choice for your company. call the

IowaDepartmentofEconomicDevelopmentandallowaproject

managertoprovidecustomizedinformationtomeetyourneeds.

Visit iowalifechanging.com to find the latest information on

Iowa’sbusinessclimate,assistanceprograms,developmentnews,

availablebuildingsandsitesandmuchmore.Ourservicesarefree

ofchargeandallinquirieswillbehandledconfidentially.

Iowa Department of Economic Development

200EastGrandAvenue•DesMoines,Iowa,50309U.S.A.

International:+1.515.725.3100

Domestic:1.800.245.4692

www.iowalifechanging.com

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