Grafton County NH Economic Development Council - Incentives

In the News...

July 17, 2008

2008 Nominations Sought!

The GCEDC is pleased to accept nominations for the second annual 'Grafton County Business of the Year' award.

This is the second year that the GCEDC will offer a business such recognition. Last year’s award went to Canaan Hardware. That company was nominated by local residents impressed by the management’s ability to weather new and strong competition as well as their concern for local aesthetics when they moved to a highly visible location adjacent to Canaan’s village common.

Nominated businesses for this year’s award should be able to show high standards of excellence in three areas: care for their community, commitment to their employees, and a history of corporate success. There are no restrictions on the size of the business, its payroll, or geographic location within Grafton County. Businesses are encouraged to self-nominate and all nominations are due by August 22, 2008

Nomination criteria and forms can be found here or by contacting the GCEDC toll free at 1-888-535-0002. The award will be presented to the successful business during the GCEDC’s Annual Meeting in September.

The best incentives for your business to come to New Hampshire is our low taxes, educated workforce, and transportation infrastructure.  Here are some other incentives:

The Lowest Tax Burden in the Northeast

New Hampshire has one of the lowest tax burdens in the country - NO sales tax, use tax, broad-base income tax, capital gains tax or inventory tax and NO higher assessment for commercial or industrial real estate. For a state by state comparison of taxes (and other statistics), check out the State of New Hampshire's Business Resource Center.

Above: A Researcher at Mascoma Corporation, Lebanon.  Mascoma received CDBG assistance in return for the 25 jobs they created.

CDBG Grants & Loans

The Community Development Block Grant program (also referred to as 'CDBG') provides federal funds to local governments.  They, in turn, distribute these funds as loans to job-creating businesses.  Funds must be used to create jobs, mainly for people from a low to moderate income background.  In Grafton County, municipalities and the county use the GCEDC as a manager of these loan funds. 

Some examples: In exchange for creating 25 jobs, Cambridge based Mascoma Corporation was able to access CDBG funds for renovating space at the DRTC business incubator. The GCEDC was able to assist DCI, Inc in Lisbon by utilizing CDBG funds as a loan to that company. 

For more information on the CDBG program, contact the GCEDC's Loan Officer, Bob Walker by phone or email.

Economic Development Loans

The GCEDC partners with bank lenders to provide loans to businesses in need. For more information, see our "Loans" section.

Job Training Fund

Talent development is a major component of New Hampshire's economic vitality, and businesses large and small realize the importance of a skilled and educated workforce.That's why the New Hampshire Job Training Fund was created – to enhance worker skills and to help New Hampshire companies stay competitive in the global marketplace. Private businesses located in New Hampshire, and businesses intending to locate in the State and who elect to pay into the unemployment trust fund are eligible for the Job Training Fund.   www.nhjobtrainingfund.org

Federal New Markets Tax Credit Program

The New Markets Tax Credit program allows a taxpaying entity to receive a credit against Federal income taxes for making qualified equity investments in designated Community Development Entities (CDE). Consequently all of the qualified equity  investment must in turn be used by the CDE to provide investments in low-income communities. More on the Tax Credit program here. Our partners at Northern Community Investment Corporation have $1 million in credits to distribute. You can contact them for more information.

Municipal Tax Increment Financing

Tax Increment Financing (or TIF) is a financial option in which  future gains are used in tax form to finance the current improvements that will create those  gains. TIF creates funding for public projects that might be unaffordable to some locals. For example, when a public project is carried out, the surrounding real estate is increased in  value and often new investment (new or rehabilitated buildings). The increased site value and investment creates more taxable property, which inturn increases tax revenues. These increased tax revenues are referred to as "tax increments". TIF takes the increased revenue  and uses it to finance the debt issued to pay for the project. More on TIF's here.