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California Office of Trade and Investment, London

At the state level, there are numerous incentives in place to encourage your investment and reduce the cost of starting and operating a business in California. The addition of local incentives makes site locations even more attractive.

Red Teams to Facilitate Your Search

The California Technology, Trade and Commerce Agency works closely with businesses to identify and package these incentive programmes that have the greatest potential impact on a company's decision to expand in California. Often, Red Teams are created to bring the kinds of public and private resources together that convince investors to move ahead with an expansion opportunity in the state.

Local Incentive

It is important to note that many incentives are site driven. Others are negotiated with local government on a case-by-case basis or under an existing local policy. Some typical local financing mechanisms are described in this section, but a wide variety of options are available at the local level. When you request a formal proposal, our regional site location team will craft a package targeted to your company's specific needs.

State Incentives

California's major state-level incentive programmes are described in this section. These programmes fall into five broad categories.  For further information on any of the five incentives below, please click on the corresponding section in the left column.

1.) Financial Assistance: California has developed a package of financial assistance programmes as diverse as the state's businesses themselves. Additionally, local governments will often capitalise on state and federal programmes to finance infrastructure improvements or provide gap financing, as warranted by the project.

2.) Employee Hiring and Training: There are services available to tell you where the qualified employees are, match you up with them, and reduce your training costs. For more information on employee training programmes, please click on the following links:

– Employment Development Department

– Job Training Partnership Act

– Employment Training Panel

3.) Tax Credits: California has made a concerted effort to encourage new investment through the creation of various tax incentives available to businesses operating in the state. For more information on the following tax incentives click on the link:

– Net Operating Loss Carryover

– Manufacturers' Investment Credit

– Research and Development Tax Credit

– Child Care Tax Credits

– Economic Revitalisation Manufacturing Property Tax Rebates (local)

– Capital Investment Incentive Payments (local)

4.) Incentive Areas: Incentive areas are specially-designated zones that provide unique benefits to the businesses operating within them. Because local communities apply to the state competitively to receive zone designations, there is generally a high degree of cooperation among local and state authorities and the business community. This also means that each zone will have a unique offering of local incentives to sweeten the state benefits.

• If you are planning to hire a number of employees or make a substantial investment in machinery or equipment, consider Enterprise Zones and LAMBRAs [Local Agency Military Base Recovery Areas.] Click on the following links for more information:

– Enterprise Zones

– Local Agency Military Base Recovery Areas (LAMBRA)

• If you are a manufacturer who makes use of post-consumer products, RMDZs [Recycling Market Development Zones] hold special benefits. Click on the following link for more information :

– Recycling Market Development Zones (RMDZ)

• If you import, California's federally-designated Foreign Trade Zones can ease cash flow concerns. Click on the following link for more information :

- Foreign Trade Zones

5.) Business Assistance Programmes: Some of California's largest firms started small — Apple Computer, for example, once consisted of Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs and a garage. In addition to helping successful corporations grow larger, the state is dedicated to helping fledgling companies survive the challenging early years.

Some of the services described below provide direct cost savings, while others provide access to large-scale technologies that would otherwise be out of reach for small companies. Low-cost, high-quality training is available for both employers and employees. To find out more about business assistance programmes click on the following links:

– Small Business Development Centres

– California Manufacturing Technology Centres

– Health Insurance Plan of California