Welcome to Alpha-Mail, the monthly newsletter about tax credits and incentives for tax professionals.

This month, learn how now is a great time to follow up with your clients to uncover tax credit opportunities for 2014.  Also, some of you may have clients with operations in Louisiana, so be sure to see our overview of Louisiana credits and incentives. We hope you can use this information to strengthen your client relationships! 

Thank you for reading Alpha-Mail -- please click reply to tell us what you think.

All the best, 

 Dale Stapler    Jim Tinsley
     Alpharesults, LLC 

As we've mentioned before, our Georgia clients frequently ask us to investigate potential credits and incentives in other states where they have operations, potential acquisitions or strong relationships with customers or vendors. In addition, private equity groups ask us about potential $$ for their portfolio companies.

We were recently asked about credits and incentives in Louisiana. I was able to speak with some Louisiana economic development professionals and learned some of their details (LED site click here).

Louisiana's main tax credits and incentives are meant to encourage new jobs within the state.  Incentives and credits are available to a wide range of targeted industries that include manufacturing, aerospace, energy, data centers, environmental controls, motion picture production, headquarters facilities, and others.

Louisiana's credits and incentives range in complexity and are typically more generous than other states (check out Louisiana's Incentive Evaluator site here). 

• ENTERPRISE ZONE -- A $2,500 tax credit for each certified net, new job created and either a 4 percent sales/use tax rebate on capital expenses or 1.5 percent refund on capital investment.  
• COMPETITIVE PROJECTS PAYROLL INCENTIVE PROGRAM -- Provides an incentive rebate of up to 15 percent of a participating company's new payroll for up to 10 years. 
• QUALITY JOBS -- Up to 6 percent rebate on annual payroll expenses for up to 10 years and either a 4 percent sales/use tax rebate on capital expenses or a 1.5 percent investment tax credit for qualifying expenses. 
• RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT TAX CREDIT -- Up to 40 percent to existing businesses with operating facilities in Louisiana to establish or continue research and development within the state. 
• DIGITAL INTERACTIVE MEDIA AND SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVE --Provides a 35 percent tax credit for in-state labor, coupled with a 25 percent credit for eligible production expenses.  
• INDUSTRIAL TAX EXEMPTION -- 100 percent property tax abatement for up to 10 years on a manufacturer's new investment and annual capitalized additions.  
• TECHNOLOGY COMMERCIALIZATION CREDIT AND JOBS PROGRAM -- A 40 percent refundable tax credit for companies that invest in the commercialization of Louisiana technology and a 6 percent payroll rebate for the creation of new, direct jobs. 
• ANGEL INVESTOR TAX CREDIT -- Up to a 35 percent tax credit for individual investors who invest in early stage, wealth-creating businesses that seek start-up and expansion capital.    
• Other incentives include tax credits for Facility Restoration, Technology Commercialization, Sound Recording Investments, and Music & Theatrical Production, among others.
• LED FASTSTART® -- A leading workforce training program, FastStart creates customized employee recruiting, screening and training solutions - at no cost to eligible companies (click  here).
• Local property and sales tax abatements are very generous and widely available, negotiated locally.

Compared to Georgia, Louisiana has:

• A similar range of incentive and credits.
• A somewhat smaller range of companies eligible for most credits.   
• Similar qualifying activities and $$ incentive amounts.
• A more hands-on approach to working with companies and projects.
• BIG DIFFERENCE -- most incentives must be pre-approved and carefully planned.

To summarize, Louisiana is very competitive with surrounding states, and on a per-capita basis attracts more new industry than most other states. However, existing Louisiana businesses must get permission from the state to receive benefits from most of the credits and incentive programs.

Do any of your clients have Louisiana connections?  If so, check out Louisiana's opportunities.

We will be speaking at the upcoming 2014 Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA) Georgia Financing Roundtable Conference on Wednesday, June 4, 2014 in Atlanta (click here for details). 

Alpharesults has assembled a team with the specialized knowledge and approach required to obtain Georgia income tax credits.  We are not a public accounting firm.  Rather, our services complement those of public accounting firms and do not create conflicted loyalties, because our professionals do not perform attestation work or other external audit functions.  

We focus on small to medium-sized businesses and work exclusively in Georgia with a wide variety of in-state and out-of-state accounting firms.  For more information on our services, follow this link.