Northwest Florida is an entrepreneurial hot spot

The Sunshine State has a completely new level of potential to offer. Utilizing it and seeing what it provides is just a matter of time according to economic development officials.
“We’ve got it in the [pan]. Now we’ve got to get it cooked and served,” said Neal Wade, executive director of the Bay Economic Development Alliance. Between the new developments of Pier Park, Pier Park North and the redevelopment of Panama City’s downtown marina, a booming local economy is set to be on its way.

Recently, the U.S. Census Bureau released data on population growth. This has many news sources reporting the fastest growing cities for the year 2016.

Cropped photo of Panama City Beach by j.s. clark

Destin, Crestview and the Fort Walton Beach area came in No. 7 according to a recent review of the data by the Wall Street Journal. From 2010-2015, the area’s population growth has increased by 11.09 percent. Per capita income is now at $44,950, with a reported unemployment rate of 4.6 percent.

Other entrepreneurial advantages to the area include:

• No corporate income tax on limited partnerships
• No state personal income tax
• No state-level property tax assessed
• No sales and use tax on goods manufactured or produced in Florida for export outside the state
• No sales tax on purchases of raw materials incorporated in a final product for resale, including non-reusable containers or packaging
• No corporate income tax on subchapter S-corporations
• No corporate franchise tax on capital stock
• No property tax on goods-in-transit for up to 180 days
• No sales and use tax on co-generation of electricity

Through Bay County’s Economic partnership program, new and expanding businesses could receive up to $5,000 for each new permanent job created. The economic incentive is awarded to push companies forward in their development stages, encouraging them to invest back into their communities.

“Once we get [everything] together, it will have an amazing effect,” said Carol Roberts, president and CEO of the Bay County Chamber of Commerce. Roberts compares the county’s economic development efforts to a “perfect positive storm getting ready to unleash its power.”

Northwest Florida is an entrepreneurial hot spot. There are so many promising ventures going on, the only way to know how great it will be is to sit back and wait.

— Jessica Haley

business administration major