Facts and figures on economic incentives

Some of the major incentives offered to businesses that relocate or expand in Georgia

EDGE Grants: Initially funded by dollars Georgia receives through the tobacco settlement, these grants are now paid for with taxpayer money. They are administered through the OneGeorgia Authority and largely pay for projects in rural parts of Georgia. They're often targeted to communities with high poverty and unemployment rates. In 2012, the state awarded nearly $30 million in Edge grants for 14 companies.

REBA Grants: Regional Economic Business Assistance grants are funded with taxpayer money. These grants often pay for larger projects in more densely-populated areas. Seven projects received REBA grants in 2012 totalling $2.5 million.

Jobs Tax Credit: Businesses can qualify for up to $4,000 a year in tax savings for each new job created, for up to 5 years. The amount of the credit varies by location. In some cases, the credits can offset up to 100 percent of corporate income tax as well as payroll withholding liability.

Mega Tax Credit: Businesses that employ at least 1,800 new employees and have either a minimum annual payroll of $150 million or make a minimum $450 million investment. In 2011, companies claimed about $50 million combined in jobs and mega tax credits.

Quick Start: The state-funded job training program, administered through the Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education. Employee training is provided free of charge to qualifying companies. For the past five fiscal years, Quick Start officials say their training helped retain or create 69,082 jobs in Georgia at an average cost of $1,049 per position.

Property Tax Abatements: In many instances, local governments will offer companies breaks on their local property taxes, sometimes for 10 and 20 years. Such tax breaks can save the companies millions of dollars but also deplete local government funds, which pay for things like schools.

Other tax breaks: There are a number of other tax breaks available to specific sectors. Georgia offers a film tax credit for the entertainment industry. It's estimated the credit will cost the state $75 million in the current fiscal year. There are also quality jobs tax credits for companies which create a minimum of 50 jobs at wages at least 10 percent higher than the county average. And companies that increase activity at Georgia's port are also eligible for a tax credit.

Source: Georgia Department of Community Affairs, Georgia Department of Revenue, Quick Start

Portrait of an Incentive Package

RATH Group, the U.S. subsidiary of an Austrian maker of specialized kiln and furnace equipment, announced plans to open a sales center in Milledgeville in 2006. Below is a look at the total incentive package offered to the company to create 20 jobs:

Jobs tax credits: $175,000

REBA Grant: $50,000

Local incentives for land and waived permitting fees: $124,160

Local property tax abatements: $265,357 over five years

Potential value of total incentive package: $614,517*

Jobs promised: 20

Jobs delivered: 17

Wages: $10 to $15 per hour per employee, or approximately $20,800 to $31,200 per year

Potential value of state and local incentives to RATH: $30,725.85 per job

*If all tax credits exercised for all 20 promised jobs

Source: AJC analysis of Department of Community Affairs documents

By the numbers

$290 million*: State EDGE and REBA grant money awarded to attract jobs to Georgia since 2002.

$160 million* : The amount of state EDGE and REBA grants in closed files analyzed by the AJC.

48 percent: The percentage of companies that received state assistance that did not meet their full promised job creation total in the files analyzed by the AJC.

3.75 percent: The percentage of awarded grant money that either wasn't disbursed or was clawed back since 2002 because the companies couldn't meet their goals.

*Does not include local incentives or state tax credits or other benefits.

Source: AJC analysis of Department of Community Affairs data

The Top 10

Of the closed EDGE and REBA grants analyzed by the AJC, here are the 10 largest, what the companies promised and how they fared:

Company/Grants awarded/Jobs promised/Jobs delivered/State funds returned

Kia/ $46.55 million*/1,800/1,752/$0

Blue Bird Body Company/$11 million* /630/130+/$0

Sewon America/$5 million/550/700/$0

Target/$3 million/496/503/$0

Perdue Farms/ $3 million/700/581++/$0

Honda Motor Co/$3 million/400/547/$0

EFACEC Power Transformers/$2.95 million/283/241/$0

Fred’s/$2.5 million/250/236/$0

Sanderson Farms/$2.28 million/1,400/1,420/$0

Fleetguard/$2.25 million/400/0/$1.8 million**