Moret: Enterprise Zone program may need adjusting

As a new legislative commission begins to evaluate the state’s tax credits, rebates, and exemptions, LED Secretary Stephen Moret says some of the programs his department manages perhaps should be tweaked. “We definitely think there are changes that can be considered with some of our existing programs,” Moret says. He says the state’s Enterprise Zone program could be better targeted to ensure it is spurring net new permanent job growth. For example, neighboring states typically don’t provide Enterprise Zone benefits to retailers, restaurants and other businesses that primarily serve local demand, but Louisiana does. A new retailer that uses the program might only cannibalize from existing businesses rather than creating new net jobs or wealth. “Some of [the program’s usage] has certainly helped create jobs,” Moret says. “Some of it has not.” In a report from March 2010, LED estimated that between 30% and 35% of the incentives provided through the EZ program, worth about $18 million to $21 million in the 2009 fiscal year, were associated with projects that don’t appear to have resulted in net new permanent jobs. That report and others related to the performance of LED-managed incentives can be found here. —David Jacobs