Incentive Zones
Business Incentive Zone
The California Business Incentive Zone (BIZ) was established by Tulare County’s local communities and county government in 1998. The only one of its kind in California, the BIZ offers a unique range of incentives for companies considering a location in Tulare County.
The BIZ is the only local program of incentives that offer direct investment by providing consultation and funding to hire consultants that assist in the evaluation of an application for local and regional permitting processes. The EDC staff also assists in accessing workforce development, job training, state and federal tax credits and other incentive programs.
Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ 226)
A U.S. Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ) is a designated area that is considered outside of U.S. customs territory for purposes of customs duty payments. Merchandise may enter the zone without payment of customs duties or excise taxes. These duties and taxes are due only at the time of transfer from the Foreign Trade Zone for U.S. consumption.
Companies have the option of paying the duty at the rate of the finished product or the rate of the individual parts or components of the product, an option that can reduce or eliminate the duty. If the final product is exported from the U.S., then no U.S. customs duty or taxes are paid on those items, allowing American companies to remain competitive with foreign-based competitors.
Tulare County is in Foreign Trade Zone 226 allowing businesses or developers to activate as a Subzone which includes the entirety of FTZ benefits. Today, there is an active FTZ site in Tulare County located in the Midstate 99 Distribution Center in Visalia CA. All areas within Tulare County are eligible for FTZ Subzone designation through activation with U.S. Customs.
If you import goods worth $1 million or more, or if you purchase foreign goods from a domestic supplier valued at $1 million or more, you’d do well to examine the benefits that an FTZ offers.
- Merchandise imported into an FTZ and later re-exported from the zone is never assessed any customs duties.
- Imported merchandise admitted into a zone and then rejected, scrapped or returned to vendor — and the waste products of a manufacturing process — are considered duty free. Some materials can be consumed in the zone and receive duty free status as well.
- When imported merchandise is shipped to U.S. locations from a zone, duties are deferred until the merchandise leaves the zone.
- When components are imported into an FTZ and manufactured into a new product for re-export or sale in the U.S., the importer may choose between the finished-product duty rate and the imported-component duty rate, whichever is lower.
- Importers located in an FTZ are required to submit only one customs entry per week, instead of an entry on each and every shipment. Firms using an FTZ are the only ones in the U.S. that currently enjoy this type of efficiency.
- Merchandising processing fees (MPF), based upon the value of the goods, are typically paid on a per-entry basis with a maximum dollar cap. Weekly entry for FTZ allows users and operators to file what would be multiple payments of the MPF only once, with the dollar cap still applying. This can constitute a tremendous savings in MPF, reducing costs to importers who otherwise would file multiple entries.
Recycling Market
Development Zone
The Greater South San Joaquin Valley Recycling Market Development Zone (RMDZ) lies in the heart of California’s Central Valley and is home to Sequoia National Park and Forest. The zone, located within Kings and Tulare Counties encompasses the unincorporated areas as well as the incorporated cities of Avenal, Corcoran, Dinuba, Exeter, Farmersville, Hanford, Lemoore, Lindsay, Porterville, Tulare, Woodlake and Visalia.
If your company manufactures with recycled materials (e.g. construction and demolition debris, plastics, organics, and paper) the RMDZ program provides attractive loans and other incentives to eligible businesses that locate in designated areas throughout the state. Find more details here.
RMDZ’s are for businesses that manufacture products using materials that would normally end up in the landfill. The company must be located in one of the specially designated geographical zones throughout California.
