Urban Enterprise Zone
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Urban Enterprise Zones (UEZs) also known as Enterprise Zones encourage development in blighted neighborhoods by offering entrepreneurs and investors tax and regulatory relief if they start businesses in the area. In other countries, a region that offers this type of special economic incentives is often referred to as a Special Economic Zone. Originating in Britain, the concept was introduced to the United States by Stuart Butler of the Heritage Foundation in 1979. Enterprise Zones caught the attention of then-Rep. Jack Kemp, R-N.Y., who co-sponsored legislation in Congress (with then-Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia of the South Bronx) based on Butler’s idea. Originally sponsored only at the federal level, UEZs have become increasingly popular with state governments as well.
In New Jersey, for example, a municipality may request that the New Jersey Urban Enterprise Zone Authority designate part of a city, usually about 30%, as a UEZ. UEZs are usually located in the industrial and/or commercial portions of a city, within a continuous boundary. A 50% reduction in the general Sales tax rate (from 7% to 3½% as of July 15, 2006) and hiring incentives, are designed to reinvigorate the business climate within the Zone. These incentives have led to the construction of numerous malls and big-box retailers in parts of the development zone located near major highways, such as the IKEA and Jersey Gardens Outlet Center in the largely industrial city of Elizabeth along the New Jersey Turnpike. More than thirty of New Jersey's 566 municipalities now participate in the program.
