Community Renewal Good Stories - Los Angeles

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EZ Bonds, Other Incentives Develop Los Angeles EZ

Los Angeles, California, EZ

Tax-exempt facility bonds help EZ businesses secure low-cost loans to finance property, buy equipment, and develop business sites within the EZ. A $3-million, 25-year EZ Facility Bond awarded to AAA Packing & Shipping in 2000 enabled this Los Angeles company to create 60 new jobs in the EZ.

The company manufactures wooden crates. With our new facility, built with the aid of EZ bonds, we have been able to expand our business tremendously, said AAA President Julius Giannini.

Complementing the EZ facility bonds and other Federal tax benefits, Los Angeles offers additional incentives that attract businesses to the city's 19-square-mile EZ. Cliff Weiss, deputy director of the Industrial and Commercial Development Division, describes two key incentives:

• The city reduces electricity rates for EZ businesses by 35 percent. For a manufacturer that uses a lot of electricity, that's obviously a huge benefit to their bottom line, Weiss says.
  


• We also waive the city business tax for new businesses that move into the EZ or existing businesses that expand within the zone. New businesses pay just $25 per year for 5 years, Weiss adds.
  

Los Angeles also plans to market the EZ bonds more aggressively. We have less than 7 years to use $230 million in EZ bonds, and it is money we want to get out on the street, Weiss continued. We are going to be doing some major outreach efforts to market our EZ bond products. We have held several seminars for business owners and developers to market EZ bonds and our other bond products.

For more information on EZ programs in Los Angeles, contact Deputy Director Clifford Weiss at (213) 744-9364. For more information on the city's EZ bonds, contact Clarence Espinosa at (213) 485-2412.