QEZE Business Certification Process.

To become a Zone-certified business and benefit from EZ Tax incentives, you will need to complete the following steps:

  1. Complete an Empire Zone application on the prescribed form, which includes identification of applicant, description of existing and/or new business, employee information, description of new investments, projected employment, and certification forms.
  2. Submit to the Columbia Empire Zone certifying officer. Zone officer can deny application with supporting reasons to Commissioner of Labor and Economic Development.
  3. If approved, local certifying officer forwards application to Commissioner of Labor and Commissioner of Economic Development.
  4. Commissioner of Labor must approve or disapprove within 15 days.
  5. If approved, the Commissioner of Labor authorizes local Zone certifying officer to issue joint certification and delivers application to the Commissioner of Economic Development.
  6. Commissioner of Economic Development issues approval or denial of application within 10 days.
  7. If disapproved, the local certifying officer shall notify the business, specifying the grounds for disapproval.
  8. If approved, the local certifying officer issues certificate and forwards to Commissioner of Taxation and Finance.
For further information on how to certify your business for participation in the Columbia County Empire Zone, contact us at info@chpartnership.net.
 


Is your business eligible?

To become a Qualified Empire Zone Employer (QEZE), your business must meet the following criteria:

  • Jobs must be created or saved
  • Substantial activities of persons employed must occur within the Zone
  • Creation of new jobs (as opposed to merely shifting jobs from one locality to another or from one business to another)
  • Businesses that receive tax, utility, or management assistance, agree to provide 90-day written notice to the Economic Development Commissioner regarding any plan to close or partially close a facility or operation within the Zone in which 50 or more employees will be affected.