Texas Department of Commerce
An Audit of the Texas Enterprise Program
Report Number 95-005
The program's overall impact on unemployment and other socioeconomic conditions has been minimal. The program has not targeted those areas with the highest unemployment as evidenced by the fact that jobs were certified in only 2 of the 10 counties with the highest levels of unemployment.
The Program's impact on tax bases has been minimal. There was no certified capital in 6 of the 10 counties with the lowest levels of per capita property wealth.
The program has had minmal impact on business decisions to locate in the zones. The state financial incentives are minor in comparison to the local incentives offered to interested businesses. The ratio of state incentives to local incentives awarded to businesses is about 1:42.
Of the 42 enterprise projects that received state financial benefits, 74 percent were manufacturers, 17 percent were food processors, and 10 percent were in the entertainment or retailing industries.
The Texas Enterprise Zzone Program has created 137 zones, designated 132 Enterprise Projects, and certified the creation of 4,117 jobs. The projects have claimed to have interested no less than $178 million in capital throughout Texas and have contributed over $11 million in state sales tax revenue as a result of that construction. The program, in turn, has rebated over $5 million back to the Projects.
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