New York (NY) State Empire Zone Program

NY Empire Zone Services:

• Initial consultation regarding the Empire Zone benefits and optimal timing of certification;
• Preparation of tax credit projections; application for Empire Zone certification and sales and use tax exemption;
• Preparation of the annual tax forms required to claim the various tax credits;
• Annual determination of eligibility for the various tax credits and sales and use tax exemption;
• Strategic planning to enhance access to specific Empire Zone benefits; and
• Consultation regarding the other financial incentives provided by the Empire Zone program.

Involvement with NY State Empire Zone Program 

√  Currently assisting over 80 businesses in N.Y. secure millions of dollars of Empire Zone program benefits.  Examples of benefits obtained for specific clients include:

• Over $7.2 million in credits for real property taxes;
• Over $1.5 million in wage tax credits; and
• $750,000 of zone capital credits

√  Freed Maxick director Don Warrant, CPA holds a position on the Buffalo Empire Zone board whose responsibilities include approval of zone boundary amendments, approval of certification applications, and allocation of zone capital credits. 

√  Provide assistance to the Buffalo, Lackawanna, Niagara Falls, Town of Tonawanda, and Genesee County Empire Zone coordinators as follows:

• Attend meetings with existing and prospective zone businesses
• Participate in open house events for zone businesses 
• Provide technical training sessions for zone coordinators and their staff

√  Under contract to provide assistance to small businesses in the Buffalo zone.

√  Authored tax legislation that became a part of the Tax Law regarding the limitation on the credit for real property taxes.
 
√  Freed Maxick has been requested to give numerous opinions regarding the Empire Zones program from the N.Y. State Department of Taxation and Finance.
 
√  Uncovered errors in the instructions to the Empire Zones program tax credit forms that were subsequently corrected by the N.Y. State Dept. of Tax and Finance.
 
√  Attend annual Empire Zones program conferences sponsored by Empire State Development Corporation.

√  Consulted with hundreds of businesses in New York (NY) regarding Empire Zones program benefits.

√  Presented to the following groups:

• Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and Rochester Institute of Management Accountants
• The N.Y. State Society of CPA’s Third Annual Western Regional Members in Industry and Commerce Conference Genesee County Empire Zone Workshop
• The 47th & 50th Institute on Taxation 

Download our Empire Zone Resources:

• NY Empire Zone Services Overview
• NY Empire Zone Program Benefits
• Freed Maxick's Empire Zone Consulting Qualifications

Empire Zone Contacts:

Our Empire Zone consultants have the technical expertise to help your business expand or relocate into any of New York’s Empire Zones. Our fees are specific to each engagement and are determined after an initial consultation meeting. Freed Maxick & Battaglia, CPAs is Western and Upstate New York's (NY) largest public accounting firm and a Top 100 firm in the U.S. Freed Maxick provides Enterprise Advisory, audit, tax and other consulting services to private and public (SEC) companies in Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Albany New York. Affiliated with RSM McGladrey, the 5th largest accounting firm in the U.S., Freed Maxick has vast national and international resources to help your business expand nationally and internationally. If you would like to set up a meeting to discuss Empire Zone program benefits for your business, please Contact:

Contact us Via the Web or Toll Free: 1-800-777-4885 

  

Don Warrant, CPA	Dave Barrett, CPA