Ohio Enterprise Zone Program
The State of Ohio allows communities to provide
tax abatement on real property and tangible personal property in
designated areas called Enterprise Zones. Stark County has seven
Enterprise Zones that cover 80 square miles. Businesses locating
or expanding within these designated zones may qualify for
substantial state and local tax breaks. The entire City of
Canton is covered by an enterprise zone.
Job Creation Tax Credit
Eligible companies can receive a state tax
credit or rebate equivalent to a percentage of the personal
income tax generated by its new Ohio employees. In some cases, a
company could receive a rebate exceeding the amount of taxes
actually paid. The amount of the credit is determined by
application to the State Tax Credit Authority and is based on
the number of full-time jobs created and the amount of
investment required. The tax credit may be granted for a maximum
period of 10 years. To be eligible for the credit, a project
must create at least 25 full-time jobs within three years with
an average hourly minimum wage of at least 150 percent of Ohio’s
minimum wage, which is $6.37/hr.
Community Reinvestment Area
This program allows the county to provide tax
abatement on real property. Stark County and the City of Canton
have several designated Community Reinvestment Areas.
Ohio Research and Development Sales Tax Credit
The R&D tax incentive provides a financial
reward for companies that begin or expand their research and
development efforts. With the R&D tax credit, the entire state
and county sales tax is exempt for purchases of machinery and
equipment primarily used for research and development.
The Ohio Investment In Training Program
The Ohio Investment in Training Program (OITP)
provides financial assistance for customized training involving
employees of new and expanding Ohio manufacturing businesses and
will consider other industries creating a large number of new
jobs. The OITP stresses training for newly created jobs, but
recognizes the importance of retaining and upgrading skills of
existing employees in an effort to retain Ohio jobs.
City of Canton Economic Growth Initiative
The City of Canton’s Economic Growth Initiative
was established to promote and expand the economic growth and
vitality of the City of Canton, which will be achieved by
focusing on new growth through business retention and/or
expansion efforts and new business recruitment to the city.
The Job Creation Incentive Program provides a
yearly payment to an enterprise based on 50% of the firm’s
employees’ income tax withholdings that are paid to the city. A
business must relocate new jobs to Canton or create new jobs.
The term of this incentive is up to five years.
The Net Profit Tax Incentive Program makes any
business that relocates to the city eligible for a yearly
payment equal to 50% of net profit taxes that are paid to
Canton. The term of this incentive is up to five years.
