William J. "Bill" Butler
Marshall County, KY Dept. of Economic Development
Marshall County Courthouse
1101 Main Street, Benton, KY 42025
Phone: 270-527-2009 Fax: 270-527-4795
E-mail: bill.butler@ky.gov 

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INCENTIVES:

Kentucky Industrial Development Act (KIDA)

Investments in new and expanding manufacturing projects may qualify for tax credits. Companies that create at least 15 new full-time jobs and invest at least $500,000 in projects approved under KIDA may receive state income tax credits for up to 100% of annual debt service costs (principal and interest) for up to 10 years on land, buildings, site development, building fixtures and equipment used in a project, or the company may collect a job assessment fee of 2% of the gross wages of each employee whose job is created by the approved project and who is subject to Kentucky income taxes. Ground leases having a term of 60 years or more are considered acquisition of real estate, but lease payments are not eligible for tax credit recovery. Eligible equipment costs are limited to $10,000 per new full-time job. Financing may be provided by any source, typically banks or industrial revenue bonds, except debt service paid in connection with other state grant programs. Unused credits may be carried forward for the term of the agreement.

Kentucky Jobs Development Act (KJDA)

Service and technology related companies that invest in new and expanded non-manufacturing, non-retail projects that provide at least 75% of their services to users located outside of Kentucky, and that create new jobs for at least 25 full-time Kentucky residents may qualify for tax credits.  Projects approved under KJDA may receive state income tax credits and job assessment fees for up to 50% of project startup costs and 50% of annual facility rental cost or rental value for up to 10 years. Maximum approved start-up costs are $10,000 per new full-time job for Kentucky residents subject to Kentucky income taxes. The company receives a 100% credit against the state income tax arising from the project and may collect a job assessment fee of up to 5.0% of the gross wages of each employee whose job is created by the project and who is subject to Kentucky income taxes.  Job assessment fee is limited to 4.0% if the local jurisdiction does not assess a local occupational license fee. Unused credits may be carried forward for the term of the agreement. The employee receives credits for the fee against state income taxes and local occupational taxes. 

Kentucky Rural Economic Development Act (KREDA)

Any business entity that establishes new manufacturing plants or expands existing manufacturing operations in qualifying Kentucky Counties. All fixed assets of the project which are financed via a term loan are eligible for recovery through the KREDA tax incentives. The project's real estate must be acquired by the approved company through either the transfer of title to the company or through a capital lease as defined under FASB13. The project must also create and maintain a minimum of 15 new jobs for persons subject to Kentucky income tax and the project's total capital investment must exceed $100,000. A KREDA approved company receives a 100% credit against the Kentucky income tax liability on taxable income generated by the project limited to the annual amount of debt service (principal and interest) paid to a lender in connection with the eligible project financing. The tax credit remains in place for the term of the KREDA agreement. The KREDA incentives (the tax credit and job development assessment fee) are limited in total to the principal amount of debt used as the basis for the transaction. An approved company may also utilize the Job Development Assessment Fee (JDAF) in connection with the KREDA project. This entails a withholding equal to 4% of the gross wages from the employees hired as a result of the KREDA approved project.  The employees recoup the JDAF through a state income credit equal to the amount of JDAF withheld. As a convenience, the JDAF is offset against normal state income tax for each pay period and the employee receives credit on the W-2 statement as if the JDAF were withheld and remitted to the state. Since the benefits under the KREDA program are related to debt service payments, the company must incur debt for the project's fixed asset financing. The financing may be provided through any source such as bank loans, industrial revenue bonds or inter-company loans provided the debt is in the form of a term loan. The approved company may not recover debt service paid in connection with financing from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, however. 

Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA)

KEDFA encourages economic development, business expansion, and job creation by providing business loans to supplement other financing. KEDFA provides loan funds at below market interest rates. The loans are available for fixed asset financing (land, buildings, and equipment) for business startup, locations, and expansions that create new jobs in Kentucky or have a significant impact on the economic growth of a community. The loans must be used to finance projects in agribusiness, tourism, industrial ventures, or the service industry. No retail projects are eligible. KEDFA may participate in the financing of qualified projects with a secured loan for up to $10,000 per new job created, not to exceed 25% of a project¹s fixed asset cost. The maximum loan amount is $500,000 and the minimum is $25,000. Small businesses with projects of less than $100,000 may receive loans on fixed assets for up to 45% of the project costs if enough jobs are created. Interest rates are fixed for the life of the loan, and is determined by the length of the loan term. Rates range from 1% to 7% depending upon the term, and are amortized monthly, quarterly or semi-annually. It is important to note that KEDFA will not lend more than the private lending institution towards the fixed assets and project owners must inject a minimum of 10% towards the fixed assets. KEDFA loan funds are disbursed at the completion of the project so the business must obtain interim financing. The KEDFA loan commitment can assist in securing the interim financing. 

Bluegrass State Skills Corporation (BSSC)

BSSC, an independent dejure corporation within the Cabinet for Economic Development, provides grants for customized skills training of workers for new, expanding and existing industries in Kentucky. Matching grants are awarded for portions of an employer¹s eligible costs for training Kentucky residents in job skills ranging from entry level to advanced, including retraining, occupational upgrading and skills upgrading of existing employees. The BSSC works with other employment, job training resources, and financial incentive agencies to design a training program customized to meet the specific needs of a company. Approved training can be provided by an educational institution, private training specialists, or by the company¹s own trainers. BSSC funds can be used for curriculum design and customization, instructor fees, instructional materials and the purchase of training equipment. BSSC also can help to cover a portion of the travel costs for the employees of new, expanding and existing Kentucky industries that must be sent outside of Kentucky or the U.S. A. for training as company instructors. The instructors must return to the company and train other employees on similar equipment, processes, and procedures. BSSC can reimburse the company partially for the instructor/trainer¹s out-of-state travel, food, and lodging expenses.

Transportation

Highways: I-24, Jackson Purchase Parkway, Highways 62, 68, 641, 80, 94 and 95. Rail Service: Calvert City by P & L Railroad; Hardin by J & J Railroad. Trucking Service: Seven trucking firms serve the area. Rivers: Tennessee, Ohio, Cumberland, and Mississippi. Air Service: Paducah's Barkley Field (30 miles away) has scheduled flights and Gilbertsville has a 4,000 ft. lighted, paved runway.

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