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Incentives & Business Support
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Yakima County Development Association works closely with both existing and new companies to ensure firms are best able to take full advantage of tax incentives and other similar programs that can save businesses time or money. Companies expanding in Yakima County can tap into a variety of tax, financing, and employee training incentives.
Hear from the companies we've helped
Your Guide to Incentives & Business Support Services
Manufacturing Sales & Use Tax Incentive: Sales tax or use tax (7.9%) does not apply to: Sales to a manufacturer or processor for hire of machinery and equipment used directly in a manufacturing operation or research and development operation. Sales to a person engaged in testing for a manufacturer or processor for hire of machinery and equipment used directly in a testing operation. Sales of or charges made for labor and services rendered in respect to installing, repairing, cleaning, altering, or improving the qualifying machinery and equipment or charges for repair parts for qualifying machinery and equipment if the parts have a useful life of at least one year.
High Unemployment County Sales and Use Tax Deferral for Manufacturing Facilities grants a deferral of sales/use tax on purchases of qualifying machinery, equipment and construction of qualified buildings to approved businesses engaged in any of the activities: manufacturing, research and development laboratories, commercial testing facilities, vegetable seed conditioning. You must file the application for this incentive before you take possession of machinery and equipment and before a building permit is issued for new construction.
Download Program Overview
Download Application.
Remittance of State Sales Tax for Warehouses, Distribution Centers, & Grain Elevators allows your business an exemption from the states portion of the retail sales tax (6.5%) on 100% of the eligible construction costs of qualified warehouses, distribution centers, and grain elevators. Qualifying activities are construction or expansion of warehouse or distribution center by at least 200,000 square feet and/or construction or expansion of a grain elevator by at least one million bushel storage capacity. The incentive also provides your business a 50% exemption from the state’s portion of the retail sales or use tax on purchases and installation of material-handling and racking equipment.
Washington State has no corporate, unitary, or personal income tax; no tax on intangibles; and no capital gains tax.
Rural County B&O Tax Credit for New Employees in Manufacturing and Research and Development provides a $2,000 credit against the businesses B&O Tax for each new qualified employment position with annual wages and benefits of $40,000 or less; or a credit of $4,000 for each new employment position with wages and benefits of more than $40,000 annually. To qualify new employment/positions must increase by 15%. The application must be filed within 90 days of filling the first qualified position. Program Overview.
B&O Tax Exemption for Manufacturers of Fresh Fruit & Vegetables waives the tax on wholesale of fruits or vegetables when sold to purchasers who transport the goods out of this state. Program Overview.
Reduced B&O Tax Rates are provided for the following activities: manufacturing of timber or wood products; commercial aerospace manufacturing; slaughtering, breaking and processing perishable meat; prescription drug warehousing; and more.
Job Skills Training Program provides funding for customized, short term and job specific training for businesses. Awards cover 50% of the cost of training for employees and the business provides a cash or in-kind match to fund the other half. Training can be for new employees or existing employees. Download Program Overview.
South Central Workforce Development Council can subsidize on-the-job or customized training for your business.
The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) is a tax incentive through the Washington State Employment Security Department for employers to hire certain hard to place job seekers. The goal is the help these individuals become economically self sufficient and reward employers who give them a chance.
The Shared Work Program presents employers with an alternative to layoffs. It provides businesses with the flexibility to retain employees at reduced hours rather than completely laying them off. Click here to learn more.
For more than 50 years People for People has been offering employment and training services for adults under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity ACT (WIOA), community jobs, and dislocated worker programs, as well as special projects designed to provide training and support for individuals to gain and retain employment. Click here to learn more about these programs.
Goodwill Job Training
Goodwill has a number of training programs from advanced manufacturing to warehouse and logistics. Click here for a complete list of program offerings and locations.
Community Economic Revitalization Board awards grants and loans to finance public infrastructure that your business needs including; access roads, rail lines, sewer and water extension, or other public works.
Supporting Investments in Economic Development awards grants and loans to finance public infrastructure that your business needs including; access roads, rail lines, sewer and water extension, or other public works. Click here for more information.
Your permits and licenses can generally be approved within 30-60 days from the time you submit completed applications. Yakima County and all of the local municipalities are committed to removing any road blocks from your business development project.
For additional regulatory and permitting assistance, contact the Governor’s Office for Regulatory Innovation and Assistance (ORIA). The ORIA’s mission is to help people navigate Washington’s environmental and business regulatory systems and work with partners to improve those systems through innovative solutions.
Tax-exempt Industrial Revenue Bonds can be issued on behalf of your business development project. These bonds can subsequently be sold at lower interest rates and may greatly reduce your projects cost. Expenses that are eligible include: property acquisition, machinery and equipment, design, consulting, legal, and accounting services, and financing costs.
If your product or service is “Made In America”, your company could be eligible for up to $75,000 in matching grant funding for projects of your choice.
NorthwestTAAC is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping U.S. companies grow and prosper in a globalized economy.
The Northwest Trade Adjustment Assistance Center (NorthwestTAAC) administers the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms (TAAF) program for the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration (EDA). NorthwestTAAC is part of a national network of 11 independent non-profit organizations and universities that manage the TAAF program. Click here to learn more.
Foreign Trade Zone or FTZ: Foreign-Trade Zones (FTZs) are designated, secure sites considered outside of U.S. Customs territory but physically located in the United States. Established in 1934, the Foreign-Trade Zone program was designed to encourage international trade and U.S. employment. A company can apply to designate part or all of their own facility as an FTZ. Foreign and domestic merchandise may be admitted into foreign-trade zones for storage, exhibition, assembly, manufacture, production and processing without formal Customs entry procedures, the payment of Customs duties, or the payment of federal excise taxes. Applicable duties and fees are paid when the products leave the zone. There are areas in Yakima County that fall within the boundaries of the Port of Moses Lake Foreign Trade Zone. If you are interested in exploring more about FTZs and how they may benefit your operations please contact our office at 509-575-1140.
Click here for an in-depth informational fact sheet about FTZ’s, including an overview of the program, the application process, and how to perform a feasibility analysis to determine if your business can leverage an FTZ.
Export Assistance: Washington State is one of the country’s major export hubs, exporting nearly $80 billion in goods annually. The Department of Commerce offers businesses an experienced trade team that provides a range of support services, including advocacy, consulting, risk mitigation, market research, trade missions and trade show support, business matchmaking and custom programs, all designed to help Washington companies open doors to trade overseas and increase sales. Click here to learn more.
Export Voucher Program: in partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Washington State Department of Commerce makes it easy for small businesses to enter or expand into new international markets through its Export Voucher Program. Click here to learn more.
Thrive is a program designed to reduce this risk while increasing the potential for growth by engaging business specialists from throughout the country to help a company more fully understand its strengths, challenges, and most importantly, opportunities.
The Department of Commerce has partnered with the Edward Lowe Foundation to offer Thrive!
Based on the foundation’s highly successful System for Integrated Growth (SiG)℠, Thrive! gives you access to experts, analytics and best practices that are usually only available to the largest companies.
Armed with this new-found knowledge, you’ll be able to address those vexing internal and external issues that have been impeding growth. These issues can be related to sales and marketing, human resources, accounting, finance and operations, supply chain management, international trade, succession planning, customer prospecting and more. For more information, call Joe at 575-1140.
Startup Washington State
Spearheaded by the Washington State Department of Commerce, the state’s startup and entrepreneur strategies are designed to strengthen communities through the cultivation and retention of economic and intellectual wealth at the local level. It has not only gained the support of local economic developers but is part of the governor’s long-term economic development initiative to create more quality jobs in rural and underserved communities throughout the state.
The goal is to re-energize these communities and businesses with an intense entrepreneurial spirit, whether they are large or small. Technology allows people to live and work where they want to these days and it is the state’s goal to provide the tools, resources, education, training and support needed to start, grow and expand a business anywhere in the state. Click here to learn more.
Small Business Development Center
The Washington Small Business Development Center (WSBDC) is a network of business advisors, trainers, and support staff who operate from Washington State University, Western Washington University, several of the state’s community and technical colleges, and selected economic development agencies. Our core services revolve around assisting our clients with making better informed business decisions to grow and sustain their businesses. We provide in-depth, confidential, no cost customized one-on one business advising, business training and advisor assisted market intelligence.
YCDA has partnered with the WSBDC and now has a Certified Business Advisor in our office to assist you in your business endeavors. To learn more about the program, click here. To contact Sarah Truglio, our local Certified Business Advisor, please call 509-575-1140.
Impact Washington
Impact Washington has helped Washington State manufacturers to become more globally competitive. Their team of manufacturing experts and industry resource network help create the change that can make the difference between surviving and thriving. Impact Washington has a 20 year history of creating measurable impacts for manufacturers with an array of consulting and training services.
Programs include Lean Training, Supply Chain Consulting, Strategy Consulting, and Growth Strategy.
As a NIST MEP approved Center, Impact Washington is the official representative of the MEP National Network in Washington State. Click here to learn more about the program.
Yakima County’s Supporting Investment in Economic Development (SIED) program is the result of 1997 state legislation to help remedy distress in rural areas. Since 1999 Yakima County’s SIED program has invested over $48 million in 125 local infrastructure projects (road, water, sewer) throughout the county (through January 31, 2019). Companies supported by SIED have invested over $385 million in new facilities and created over 2150 new jobs.
SIED awards grants and loans to finance public infrastructure to support your project’s development; access roads, rail lines, sewer and water extension, or other public works.
Click here for more details about the program and to see if your project qualifies.
The Collateral Support Program was created by the Washington State Department of Commerce to help lenders approve business your loan request if you lack sufficient collateral to receive and SBA 504 loan.
To find out more and see if you’re eligible, please visit this website.