Professional Business Brokers of Jacksonville Florida
Overview of Florida State and Jacksonville
According to the Florida Department of State Division of Corporations, Florida
has become one of the most desirable states in the country in which to conduct business. The State consistently leads the nation in new business incorporations. With one of the largest supplies of business parks, an advantageous business tax system, transportation availability and a large population of skilled human resources, Florida provides everything that a business requires to function.
Florida has consistently been the national pacesetter in the number of new business incorporations, leading the nation seven out of the last eight years. For each of the past ten years, Florida has been one of the top four states in new corporate facilities and expansions, including leading the nation five times. And why is this so?
Business leaders find Florida less taxing environment:
The corporate income tax rate is 5.5%
No corporate franchise tax on capital stock
No tax on foreign source dividends, as defined by IRS code
No state personal income tax
No state level-property tax
No property tax on business inventories
No ad valorem taxes on goods-in-transit
No sales tax on boiler fuels, including recycled oil, waste oil, or solid waste materials used as a fuel
No sales and use tax on co-generated energy or on co-generation machinery and equipment
Tourism plays an important role in Florida's tax structure. More than $57 billion in taxable spending was generated in 2004 by tourism.
To assist companies seeking to locate or expand in Florida, numerous advantages and incentives are available such as, workforce training and inducement programs, tax incentives/inducements, research development/technology programs, financial support services and small business assistance.
Florida is a leader in global trade. No state moves products faster or more effectively than Florida, according to a joint study by CNBC, America’s Business Channel and CNBC.com, which looked at air, rail, road and water connections. Florida’s transportation system is ranked number 1 in the nation, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Florida has 20 Foreign Trade Zones, mostly located at or near its seaports and international airports, where value can be added to foreign goods, tariff-free.
To sum things up, Florida Trend noted the Top 10 Reasons to do Business in Florida.
Technology Leadership: With 21,000 high-tech companies employing 276,400 highly skilled workers, Florida leads the Southeast in technology-driven businesses,
Global Gateway: The right combination of geographic location, economic clout and political stability make Florida the center of trade and finance for the Western Hemisphere.
Entrepreneurial Environment: The U.S. Small Business Administration puts Florida among the top three most highly efficient states in fostering the birth of new businesses.
Global Connectivity: With one of the world’s most extensive multimodal transportation systems, including 21 major airports, 14 deepwater seaports, a vast network of highway and railway connections and Kennedy Space Center’s one-of-a-kind Spaceport, Florida’s connections to the world are difficult to match.
Business Climate: Expedited permitting services and assistance in accessing enterprise bonds, micro-loans and venture capital further contribute to Florida’s reputation as a great place to do business.
Workforce Talent: Florida offers a diverse and available workforce, including the influx of thousands of high quality graduates from Florida’s public and private colleges and universities each year.
Business-Friendly Government: Thanks to the interactive website MyFlorida.com, many business-oriented functions of state and local government are readily accessible online.
Quality of Life: Sunshine, outstanding recreational amenities and economic opportunity, enough said!
Visionary Development: More than any other state, Florida’s economic development goals and initiatives have been created as part of a statewide vision to promote innovation and diversified industry growth.
Economy Growth: America’s leader for job creation since 2002, Florida has the 8th largest economy in the Western Hemisphere.
Not only is it a nice place to run a business, but it is also a highly desirable area
to live. For eight years straight, Florida has earned a top spot in Harris Poll’s “Most Desirable Places to Live” survey. Now, it sees plenty of those who picked Florida as the place they’d most likely like to live are making good on their choice. Every day, close to 1,000 new residents make the move. Florida has been in the top four states in population growth rates every decade as far back as the 1920's. The current total population is 17,019,068.
Jacksonville and its six surrounding counties make up the area called Florida's First
Coast, so named because it is located on the Atlantic Coast in the northeast corner of Florida and was the first coast of Florida to be settled by Europeans.
The city of Jacksonville ranks as the 14th largest city in the U.S. and the Jacksonville metropolitan area is now the 55th largest metropolitan area in the U.S., and the region has a total population of almost 1.3 million. With a median age of 36, the population is significantly younger than all other major Florida cities.
Two-thirds of the 50 million consumers in the Southeastern United States are located within 600 miles, and the First Coast's two deep-water ports give access to all global markets.
Jacksonville is a friendly and comfortable place - a coastal community of neighborhoods as unique as the people who live in them. From luxury condo high-rises, to grand historic homes, to custom-built new communities in every style imaginable, there is a place for you to feel at home.
Outdoor activities abound, with 68 miles of Atlantic Ocean coastline, 300 miles of river and every imaginable topography in-between. Add to that our year-round fantastic climate and our low cost of living - Jacksonville is the most affordable city in Florida - and there's no wonder why this region keeps growing. With a bevy of top companies to choose from and new ones moving into the community daily, Jacksonville offers ample employment opportunities, has an attractive housing market, and a world class climate – four seasons without snow.
The region's success is attributable to the future-focus of its leaders. The result is a community where preservation of our natural resources is in balance with the demands of a growing metropolitan area, creating both an ideal setting for businesses to thrive and a wonderful place to live.
With all of the employment growth in Jacksonville and Northeast Florida over the past few years, the area's most remarkable asset is the benefit of a constantly growing and developing workforce, with more than 700,000 in the labor draw area. Fifty percent of the population growth is coming from people moving here to take advantage of employment opportunities. Businesses new to Northeast Florida have again and again found high-caliber workers to be widely available and immediately employable.
Blessed with a young workforce, wonderful climate and business-friendly environment, the greater Jacksonville region has enjoyed tremendous growth and prosperity over the past decade. The vision of its leadership has played no small role in this growth. From the wisdom of consolidating the city and county governments in 1967, to the airport expansion in the early ‘90s, to the region-wide effort to secure the Jaguars franchise in 1993, the area has a strong track record of consensus-building and accomplishment.
These efforts have resulted in significant recognition such as:
Jacksonville is consistently rated as one of the "Hottest Cities in America" for business expansions and relocations by site consultants in an annual poll for Expansion Management magazine. Ranked #3 in 2004, Jacksonville has been in the top 10 for eight straight years and is the only city to be ranked first three times.
In April 2006 Jacksonville was recognized as one of the top three U.S. organizations for "Leadership and Innovation" in economic development by CoreNet, the world's premier association for corporate real estate and related professionals.
Florida ranked 4th among the 50 states on a Tax Foundation study of business-friendly tax climates in 2006.
In the May 2006 issue of Business 2.0, Jacksonville was ranked in the Top 10 "Hottest Cities" that will lead job growth through 2015.
Jacksonville was ranked by Expansion Management as being in the top 15 percent of all U.S. metro areas for fiber optic connectivity.
According to the May 1, 2006 Newsweek cover story “America’s Best High Schools”, Stanton College Prep and Paxon High School were ranked 5th and 28th best high schools in the nation. Six area schools made the list and Duval County was the only school district to have two schools ranked in the Top 30.
INTERMODAL TRANSPORTATION
Jacksonville's central location, with access to road, rail, sea and air transportation, has made it the intermodal hub of the Southeast. As the city farthest west on the eastern seaboard, Jacksonville has easy access to the Southeastern United States, as well as Latin America, the Caribbean and the rest of North America. Jacksonville’s port operations have grown significantly with the recent addition of container ship service to Asia. Jacksonville is rapidly becoming a significant international trade center. As broadband communications and transportation innovations continue to bring all areas of the globe closer together, Jacksonville is ideally suited to be your springboard to the world.
ECONOMIC INCENTIVES
Incentives for new job creation, job development and infrastructure enhancements are based on job type, number of jobs, wages and economic impact. Training assistance is also available for new jobs created and capital investment. Because company expansions vary in type and size, economic incentives are tailored to assist individual companies at the state and local level.
Source: Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce
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