209 Gloucester Street, Ste 211 Brunswick, GA 31520
We understand the importance of attracting and retaining businesses, which is why we offer a range of incentives and assistance programs to support economic development both statewide and in Southeast Coastal Georgia. Locally, businesses can enjoy rapid decision making, streamlined permitting, collaborative partnerships, low costs, convenient access to global markets, a welcoming community, less competition, and an opportunity to create immediate impact.
Our six member counties of the SEGA Alliance offer various incentives that may be exactly what your business needs. These incentives may include:
Ranked the #1 State for Business by both Area Development magazine (2013-2023) and Site Selection magazine (2012-2020), Georgia offers a full slate of business incentives and tax exemptions.
Every year, Georgia’s 159 counties receive a tier designation from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs that is based on various indicators of economic well-being. The tier system is incorporated into many of the state’s incentive programs, most notably the Job Tax Credits, to encourage economic activity in economically distressed areas of the state. The tier rankings range from Tier 1 (most distressed) to Tier 4 (least distressed).
A division of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, the state’s six Centers of Innovation provide the leading technical industry expertise, research collaborations, and business partnerships to help the state’s strategic industries connect, compete and grow. The Centers operate statewide with a focus on:
Charlton and Wayne counties are designated HUBZones, as are portions of the City of Brunswick in Glynn County. Benefits for HUBZone-certified companies include:
The federal government has a goal of awarding 3% of all dollars for federal prime contracts to HUBZone-certified small business concerns.
Currently two sites in the SEGA Alliance region hold Georgia Ready for Accelerated Development (GRAD) certification. This means partners in those communities have already completed the initial due diligence as to minimum qualified acreage, transportation and accessibility assessments, documented utility services and topographical surveys.
GRAD SitesSeveral cities and towns in the SEGA Alliance region have federally designated Opportunity Zones. Economic investment in these areas, which are some of the most distressed communities in the country, may be eligible for preferential tax treatment. These Federal Opportunity Zones are intended to facilitate investment in areas where poverty rates are greater than 20 percent.
The New Market Tax Credit program was enacted to promote community investment from individuals and companies. The credit is provided to the company or individual that makes a qualified investment with a Community Development Entity (CDE). The invested money must be used by the CDE to provide low interest loans to new business ventures within a qualified census tract.
The SEGA Alliance region falls within Foreign Trade Zone 144. An FTZ is a secured, neutral area outside of U.S. Customs territory. Items imported into an FTZ are exempt from duties and excise taxes. Merchandise may be manipulated, used in manufacturing, inspected, combined, displayed for sale, or re-exported without payment of duty. Customs duties and excise taxes are only applied on the final product if/when the product is imported into the U.S.