Tax-Free Keystone Opportunity Zone

Clearing the Way for Industry to Sprout	When it comes to seeding economic growth, you might say the state of Pennsylvania has developed quite a green thumb. That’s because it takes a tremendous amount of care and commitment to help new and expanding businesses flourish. Not only do companies need the right climate to set up shop, but they must remain free of the stranglehold that taxes can place on their ability to thrive and mature. This is why Pennsylvania has created the boldest, most forward-thinking economic development program in the nation: the Keystone Opportunity Zone.

The Nurturing Environment of KOZs	Elimination of taxes… that was the goal of an initiative begun in 1998 that allowed local counties, municipalities and school districts in Pennsylvania to designate certain properties within their jurisdictions as Keystone Opportunity Zones (KOZ) and Keystone Opportunity Expansion Zones (KOEZ). These selected sites would benefit from a moratorium on virtually all local and state taxes until 2010 (KOZ) and even as late as 2013 (KOEZ). (Since March 2002, Pennsylvania has ceased using the term KOEZ when designating a property. KOZ is now used universally.)

A Bumper Crop of Success Stories	From the start, Pennsylvania’s KOZ program has been immensely successful, giving rise to an incredible amount of growth and prosperity for new, relocating and expanding businesses alike. In the few years since the KOZ program was launched, the state has attracted more than 391 distinct projects, involving more than $1.58 billion in capital improvements! This has resulted in the creation or retention of more than 21,000 jobs (13,614 jobs created and 7,762 jobs retained. Source: KOZ/KOEZ Four-Year Report, DCED, January 2003) In 2000, the Keystone Opportunity Zone Program was recognized with the Gold/First place award for statewide economic development strategy in Business Facilities’ annual award program.