At a small rally in Stockton, one City official and representatives of the local business community protested Governor Brown’s plan to revamp Enterprise Zones. In the May Revise, Governor Brown called for an end to income tax credits for hiring in Enterprise Zones, instead opting to offer sales tax rebates for new equipment purchases.
One business represented said that in the last 15 years, the tax credits for new hires has enabled them to hire 150 people, and about 25 percent of their current employees were hired due to the incentives. Those incentives, according to Stockton Councilwoman Kathy Miller, are imperative to cities such as Stockton that are working to reinvent and rebuild their city.
Governor Brown lambasted the program in the past, saying that Enterprise Zones are a state subsidy for intra-state business mobility. Instead of actually growing the state’s business economy, the State simply pays for businesses to move out of one city and into another.
Read the full article at the Stockton Record.