The Calexico-County Enterprise Zone that gives state tax incentives to businesses located in such areas was expanded Tuesday by the Imperial County Board of Supervisors to include the Barbara Worth Golf Resort.
For years the resort has gone into disrepair, and its new owners, Imperial Palms Resort LLC., expect to use the tax credits the enterprise zone provides to maximize the investment into the resort, said CEO Darryl Readshaw.
It is unclear how much the credits will impact the investment, Readshaw said, but the county will benefit with about 70 to 100 new jobs.
Businesses located within an enterprise zone receive two primary tax credits, CCEZ manager Daniel Fitzgerald said.
Fifty percent of the wages provided may be given as credit to employers the first year, he said. This percentage is reduced 10 percent a year for the next four years, Fitzgerald said.
There are also a sales tax and a so-called use tax credit employers can use when purchasing things such as equipment, he said.
But “these are all state credits, not exemptions,” Fitzgerald said. Moreover, the credits only affect the state’s tax rolls so there are no negative impacts to county taxes, he said.
The expansion of the enterprise zone is not connected to the one already established in Calexico, Fitzgerald said during a report to the board. This is legal as long as there are no businesses located in between the original and the new expanded zones, he said.
The new owners, who purchased the resort Aug. 29, plan to reopen the Barbara Worth hotel in November and the restaurant bar by the end of December, Readshaw said.
So far only the golf course and the convention center are open and employ 23 people, Readshaw said.
The tax credits will maximize the investment into the resort, he said, adding that the “plan is to open the resort and make it better to what it was.”
Staff Writer Alejandro Davila can be reached at 760-337-3445 or adavila@ivpressonline.com
For years the resort has gone into disrepair, and its new owners, Imperial Palms Resort LLC., expect to use the tax credits the enterprise zone provides to maximize the investment into the resort, said CEO Darryl Readshaw.
It is unclear how much the credits will impact the investment, Readshaw said, but the county will benefit with about 70 to 100 new jobs.
Businesses located within an enterprise zone receive two primary tax credits, CCEZ manager Daniel Fitzgerald said.
Fifty percent of the wages provided may be given as credit to employers the first year, he said. This percentage is reduced 10 percent a year for the next four years, Fitzgerald said.
There are also a sales tax and a so-called use tax credit employers can use when purchasing things such as equipment, he said.
But “these are all state credits, not exemptions,” Fitzgerald said. Moreover, the credits only affect the state’s tax rolls so there are no negative impacts to county taxes, he said.
The expansion of the enterprise zone is not connected to the one already established in Calexico, Fitzgerald said during a report to the board. This is legal as long as there are no businesses located in between the original and the new expanded zones, he said.
The new owners, who purchased the resort Aug. 29, plan to reopen the Barbara Worth hotel in November and the restaurant bar by the end of December, Readshaw said.
So far only the golf course and the convention center are open and employ 23 people, Readshaw said.
The tax credits will maximize the investment into the resort, he said, adding that the “plan is to open the resort and make it better to what it was.”
Staff Writer Alejandro Davila can be reached at 760-337-3445 or adavila@ivpressonline.com
