Taxes

Businesses at the Port of Victoria benefit from a number of tax advantages. Per the Tax Foundation, Texas ranked #11 in the country in its 2021 State Business Tax Climate Index and has several general tax advantages, such as:

  • No Corporate Income Tax or Individual State Income Tax
  • #6 rank for State & Local General Sales Tax Collections per Capita - $1,259
  • #13 rank for State Sales Tax Rate - 6.25%
  • Being located within a Foreign Trade Zone

The Port of Victoria is located within Foreign Trade Zone #155 - the Calhoun-Victoria Foreign Trade Zone. As such, it is designated by the federal government for duty-free entry of any non-prohibited goods. Benefits include the ability to store and display merchandise used for manufacturing within this zone and re-exported without duties. A foreign-trade zone is a designated site licensed by the Foreign-Trade Zones (FTZ) Board at which special customs procedures may be used. These procedures allow domestic activity involving foreign items to take place prior to formal customs entry. Duty-free treatment is accorded items that are re-exported and duty payment is deferred on items sold in the U.S. market, thus offsetting customs advantages available to overseas producers who compete with producers located in the United States. Subzones are special-purpose zones, usually at manufacturing plants. A site that has been granted zone status may not be used for zone activity until the site has been separately approved for FTZ activation by local U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials, and the zone activity remains under the supervision of CBP. FTZ sites and facilities remain within the jurisdiction of local, state or federal governments or agencies.

FTZ No. 155 Calhoun/Victoria Counties
Grantee: Calhoun-Victoria Foreign-Trade Zone, Inc.
P.O. Drawer 397, Point Comfort, TX 77978

In addition, Port of Victoria staff understands the various county and state tax programs designed to help area business development, employee training and workforce development.

The Port of Victoria is located within a Texas Enterprise Zone, a state sales and use tax refund program designed to encourage private investment and job creation in economically distressed areas of the state based on the company’s planned capital investment and job creation and/or retention.

The Relocation Expenses Deduction allows companies to deduct from relocation costs incurred in relocating their main office or another principal place of business to Texas from another state. 

Industrial Revenue Bonds (IRBs) provide a source of tax-exempt or taxable bond finance for projects involving significant private activity that promotes new and existing businesses, encourages employment and expands the tax base of a community.

The Property Tax Abatement program exempts all or part of the increase in the value of a property from taxation for a period not to exceed 10 years. Tax abatements allow cities, counties and special districts to attract new industries and to encourage the retention and development of existing businesses.

The Texas Economic Development Act encourages Texas investment projects in reinvestment or enterprise zones. Projects must be in manufacturing, R & D, clean coal,  clean energy, power generation or a computer center used primarily in connection to other categories.

The Texas franchise tax is a privilege tax imposed on each taxable entity formed or organized in Texas or doing business in Texas.

The Solar Energy Franchise Tax Exemption exempts Texas corporations engaged solely in the business of manufacturing, selling, or installing solar energy devices from the franchise tax. 

Many State Sales & Use Tax Exemptions exist and can be found at the Texas Comptroller website. Exemptions can be applied to the following categories:

  • Leased or purchased machinery, equipment, replacement parts and accessories that have a useful life of more than six months, and that are used or consumed in the manufacturing, processing, fabricating or repairing of tangible personal property for ultimate sale.
  • Electricity and natural gas used in manufacturing, processing, or fabricating tangible personal property.

Contact us today for help through the process of finding the best options for your business!