Mesa County applies for "Rural Jump-Start Zone"

Mesa County has applied to participate in the Rural Jump-Start Zone Tax Credit Program, a new program designed to grow the economies of rural areas in Colorado.

Jump-Start is a joint effort between counties, municipalities, higher education institutions and business communities in Colorado to grow jobs in industries such as advanced manufacturing, aviation, food processing, biotech and other technologies. There are 44 counties eligible to apply for the program but only three counties will be able to participate in the first year. Mesa County, the cities of Grand Junction and Fruita, and the Town of Palisade, passed resolutions in the past week to be part of the program. Colorado Mesa University filed the application Thursday.

The Jump-Start Program requires businesses to create a minimum of five net new jobs in the county where they locate in exchange for relief from state income and sales & use taxes; county and municipal personal property taxes; and state income taxes for their employees for up to eight years. To further enhance the program, Mesa County’s local jurisdictions added a number of other local tax incentives to the program. Additional requirements for businesses include that the core function of the business cannot compete with existing businesses in the state and the business must establish a relationship with an institute of higher education in their county.

Per the Grand Junction Economic Partnership (GJEP), which helped lead the effort to establish a rural tax credit program in Colorado, several businesses have already shown an interest in taking advantage of Jump-Start to locate in Mesa County.

Colorado Mesa University should receive a response to its application from the Colorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade by Jan. 14, and individual businesses may begin submitting their applications starting Jan. 19.
For more information about the Rural Jump-Start Zone Tax Credit Program in Mesa County, contact GJEP at (970) 245-4332, or visit: www.jumpstartmesaco.com.