go zone: Baton Rouge Named a Top Place to Launch a Business by CNN Money - 10/23/09 05:42 AM

If you are looking to start a business, particularly in high tech, Baton Rouge is a great place to come.  Ranked at #9 on CNN Money's Best Place to Launch a Business in mid-sized metro areas, Baton Rouge offers a combination of young engineering talent, tax incentives, and quality of life that pulls in new entrepreneurs.
Between 2004-2007, the small business growth rate was 9.3%, as compared to 5.92% for other "Best Places."  In 2007, this translated to 16,860 new small businesses with 1-49 employees.  Much of the growth was in the technology sector, as engineering and construction firms settled … (0 comments)

go zone: Going, Going Gone – GO Zone Credits End This Year - 04/27/09 01:54 AM
Some tax incentives set up to encourage Hurricane Katrina repair will end in December, 2009, not a year later as originally thought.
 After Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama in August, 2005, the Federal Government setup the GO Zone to encourage redevelopment in the area.  Modeled after the New York Liberty Zone incentives that were formed for parts of lower Manhattan after the 9-11 terror strike, the legislation signed by President Bush was intended to stimulate rapid, private investment within the Gulf Opportunity Zone (GO Zone).   
The plan offers investors GO Zone 50% bonus depreciation deduction for qualifying construction … (0 comments)