The city of Santa Clarita is proud to announce that the Santa Clarita Enterprise Zone celebrated its one-year anniversary July 1.

The Santa Clarita Enterprise Zone received its official designation from the State on July 1. Since its designation as an enterprise zone, the city of Santa Clarita has seen immense tax savings for its local business community.

In May 2008, the city issued its 100th voucher for enterprise zone hiring tax credits to the 99 Cents Only Store on Lyons Avenue in Newhall.

The 99 Cents Only Store joined more than 36 other local businesses in taking advantage of the hiring tax credit option of the Santa Clarita Enterprise Zone.

Businesses in several industries have started taking advantage of the hiring tax credits including retail establishments such as Salt Creek Grille, Macys, and Office Depot; service industry businesses such as U.S. Health Works, Hyatt Hotels, and The law offices of Daniel R. Mortensen; and manufacturing businesses such as Aero Engineering & Manufacturing, B & BManufacturing, and True Position Technologies, just to name a few.

The hiring tax credit voucher program is only one of several benefits for businesses located within the Enterprise Zone. The voucher program can save a business owner approximately $37,000 over a five-year period on a single qualifying-employee.

The 100th voucher being issued in May represents a potential savings of over $3.7 million to local businesses in the city.

However, the hiring tax credit voucher program is not the only program available to businesses located in the Enterprise Zone. Additional benefit programs that can qualify a business for reduced state income tax include sales or use-tax credits, business expense deductions, net-interest deductions and net operating loss carryover deductions.

"These benefits can translate into tens of thousands of dollars in State Income Tax savings for local businesses that use the Santa Clarita Enterprise Zone" said Santa Clarita Mayor Bob Kellar.

In fact,97 percent of all commercial, business and industrial-zoned land within the City of Santa Clarita, consisting of approximately 13.5 square miles, is included in the boundaries of the Santa Clarita Enterprise Zone, allowing thousands of city of Santa Clarita businesses to be eligible for just such tax savings.

For more information about the Santa Clarita Enterprise Zone and the benefits for businesses located there, please contact the city of Santa Clarita's Economic Development Office at 661-255-4347, or visit the city's enterprise zone Web site at www.SCEnterpriseZone.com.