|
New Legislation Improves Options for San Francisco Business Tax Credits
On June 24th the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed legislation making it easier for businesses to qualify for the local Enterprise Zone Payroll Tax Credit. The newly passed ordinances make the local program more consistent with the California Enterprise Zone Program, extending eligibility for the Payroll Tax Credit to thousands of additional San Francisco businesses, jobs, and workers, effective immediately.
The local Enterprise Zone Payroll Tax Credit was created to encourage businesses in specified geographic areas to hire and retain workers from targeted groups. Administered by the Office of the Treasurer and Tax Collector, the tax credit offsets the payroll tax a business would have paid by hiring new qualified employees and can be claimed over a period of ten years. Changes to the program are summarized below:
• Previously limited to new hires in newly created jobs, the San Francisco Enterprise Zone Payroll Tax Credit can now apply to any new hires, if the business and worker meet other eligibility criteria.
• The geographic boundaries of San Francisco’s Enterprise Zone were expanded and now include Chinatown, South of Market, Mission Bay, Embarcadero, Potrero Hill, Tenderloin, Civic Center, Western Addition, Japantown, Financial District, Bayview, Hunters Point and Parts of Visitacion Valley. view a map of the new zone
• Eligibility criteria for workers have been expanded consistent with the California Enterprise Zone Program, excepting the state provision regarding an employee’s residence.
• San Francisco’s program requires that eligible workers be residents of the City.
For more information about whether your business qualifies, and for help understanding and processing hiring tax credits, read this overview, or contact Paige Buck at SF Works at (415) 217-5182 or pbuck (at) sfworks (dot) org.
|
