Welcome to country living at its finest. Hettinger County is a place immersed in scenic farm landscapes filled with heritage and culture. It is a land of beauty and tranquility with a rich historical past of German-Russian and Norwegian immigrants that settled here at the turn of the 20th century. The pioneering spirit and strong family values are still alive creating a quality lifestyle in the county today.

If you're looking to relocate your family or business, Hettinger County can offer you:

• Country living with less than a sixty-minute drive for airport service, major hospital or university.
• Rural peace and only ninety minutes from the State Capitol.
• Small town safety and friendliness.
• Schools that produce kids with some of the highest SAT scores in the nation.
• A crime rate that is the lowest in the United States for the sixth straight year.
• A jet stream that ensures some of the cleanest air in the world.
• A workforce that has one of the lowest absentee rates in the nation.
• An abundant and affordable supply of electricity.
• High-speed internet connection.

Hettinger County Job Development Authority (JDA) is a partner in a two-county economic development organization serving Grant and Hettinger counties. The JDA facilitates business growth by collaborating with a wide variety of public and private partners to access resources for the counties.

The JDA currently has three main strategies for increasing wealth and strengthening communities in the area:

• Business Retention & Expansion
• Tourism Industry Development
• Recruitment

1. Business Retention & Expansion - retaining and growing existing businesses/entrepreneurs through:
• Local training opportunities in business classes such as Business Management, Marketing, Business Technology, and E-businesses.
• Support through interest buy-down programs.
• Technical assistance with business plans to increase access to Capital.
• Technical assistance with marketing plans to expand markets.
• Technical assistance with restructuring financing.
  JDA is a member of Business Retention & Expansion International
2. Tourism Industry Development - creating an infrastructure that assists this newly identified primary-sector industry of North Dakota. This new effort works to build the following:
• Support for community development plans for sustainable tourism.
• Increased access to business planning assistance.
• Increased access to resources for developing marketing materials.
• Increased training opportunities in product development, customer service, marketing, and small business management.
  JDA is a member in West River Regional Tourism Council and Dakota West Adventures.
3. Recruitment is a strategy for marketing our region to families who are seeking a safer, more peaceful way of life and looking to rural places. These are families with telecommuting jobs or small businesses that can be relocated to Hettinger County where high speed internet access is available and airport service is only 60 minutes away.

Hettinger County JDA Business Incentives

Interest buy-out
Hettinger County JDA offers an interest incentive for new and existing businesses.

• The business loan must be approved by a financial institution.
• The JDA will pay all interest on a loan of not more than $5000 for a term of five years or less.
• Loan funds must be used for capital purchases or improvements.
• Businesses must be located in Hettinger County.

REAP zone
Hettinger County is located within a Rural Economic Area Partnership (REAP) zone which gives area businesses access to additional USDA gap financing funds and project designations.

North Dakota State Tax Incentives

Property Tax Exemption
Any new or expanding business project may be granted a property tax exemption for up to five years.

Qualifications:

• Projects must be new or expanding revenue producing enterprises.
• All buildings, structures or improvements used in, or necessary to the operation of the project qualify.
• Land does not qualify, but the project’s buildings or quarters within a building qualify.

  Application Procedures:

• Application is made to the city governing body for projects within the city limits.
• Application is made to the county commission for those projects outside the city boundaries.
• Application must be made and approved before construction of a new structure begins.
• If an existing structure will be occupied, application must be made and approved before the structure is occupied.

Personal Property Tax Exemption
North Dakota exempts all personal property from property taxation except that of certain oil and gas refineries and utilities.

Sales Tax Exemptions

Manufacturing Equipment
Machinery or equipment from sales and use tax may be exempted if:

• It is used primarily for manufacturing or agricultural processing, or
• It is used solely for recycling.
• The expansion must increase production volume, employment, or the types of products that can be manufactured or processed.

  Computer and Telecommunications Equipment
  Purchases of computer and telecommunications equipment that are

• An integral part of a primary sector business.
• A physical or economic expansion of a primary sector business
• The business has been certified by the Department of Commerce Division of Economic Development and Finance.
• The exemption does not extend to the purchase of replacement equipment.

  Agricultural Processing Plant Construction Materials

• Construction materials used to construct an agricultural processing facility are exempt from sales and use taxes.
• The processor must apply to the State Tax Commissioner for a refund of the tax paid by a contractor.

  Wind-Powered Electrical Generating Facilities

• A sales and use tax exemption is allowed for purchasing building materials

  Production equipment

• Other tangible personal property used in the construction of wind-powered electrical generating facilities between July 2001 and January 2011.
• To be eligible, a facility must have at least one single electrical energy generation unit with a nameplate capacity of 100 kilowatts or more.

  Application Procedures

• The qualifying business must receiver prior approval from the State Tax Commissioner to qualify for the exemption at the time of purchase.
• If prior approval is not received, the qualifying business must pay the tax and then apply to the State Tax Commissioner for a refund.
• The exemption is not available to contractors.
• The qualifying business may apply for a refund of the appropriate portion of the tax actually paid by the contractors on eligible machinery, equipment, computers, and telecommunications equipment.

Property Tax Reduction
The taxable value of a centrally assessed wind-turbine electric generation unit with a nameplate generation capacity of 100 kilowatts or more, on which construction is completed before January 1, 2011, is calculated at 3 percent of assessed value instead of the 10 percent rate that applies to other property.

Income Tax Exemption

• A new or expanding project in a primary sector business or tourism qualifies for an income tax exemption for up to five years.
• Primary Sector business means an enterprise that creates wealth by using knowledge or labor to add value to a product, process or service.
• The exemption is limited to income earned from the qualifying project.
• The project operator must file a state income tax return even though an exemption is granted.
• Note: This exemption is not allowed to an individual, estate, or trust which calculates an income tax under N.D.C.C. # 57-38-30.3

  Limitations
  A project is not eligible for an exemption if:

• It received a tax exemption under tax increment financing.
• There is a recorded lien for delinquent property, income, sales or use taxes against the project operator or principal officers.
• The exemption fosters unfair competition.
• The exemption endangers an existing business.

  Application Procedures

• The project operator applies to the State Board of Equalization c/o State Tax Commissioner.
• The application must be filed no later than one year after the commencement of project operations.
• The application is reviewed by the Department of Commerce Division of Economic Development and Finance.
• The project operator must provide notice to competitors as prescribed by the State Board.
• The State Board considers the application and any testimony provided at a public meeting. The State Board then grants or denies the exemption and certifies the results to the State Tax Commissioner.

Income Tax Incentives
Wage and Salary Credit
A corporation doing business in North Dakota for the first time may take an income tax credit equal to:
1% of wages and salaries paid during the tax year for each of the first three years of operation and
½ % of wages and salaries paid during the tax year for the fourth and fifth years.

Qualifications

• The corporation must be engaged in assembling, fabricating, manufacturing, mixing or processing an agricultural, mineral or manufactured product
• The corporation did not receive a new business income tax exemption
• The corporation was not created from a reorganization or acquisition of an existing North Dakota business.

Work Force Training and Development

Workforce 2000
Workforce 2000 is a state program that assists employers with retraining and upgrade training for introducing new technologies and work methods into the workplace. These funds will assist training of current workers or new employees.

Funds are:

• Limited to North Dakota residents who are or will be employed in the state.
• Available to rural and urban employers.
• Available to companies of all sizes.
• For projects that emphasize job skill and basic skill training.
• For permanent jobs which have significant career opportunities and require substantive instructions.
• For direct training costs reimbursement i.e. instructor wages, per diem, travel, tuition and registration fees, training materials, lease of training equipment and training space.

New Jobs Training Assistance
This program assists a new or expanding primary sector business with training new employees. The cost of the training under the program is paid for in whole or in part with the income tax withheld from the new employees. For more information on the training programs visit the website or contact Job Service North Dakota, 701-328-3358, PO Box 5507, Bismarck, North Dakota 58506-5507.

Contact Information

Office of State Tax Commissioner
Rick Clayburgh, Commissioner
State Capitol, 600 E. Boulevard Avenue
Bismarck ND 58505-0599
701-328-2770 or 800-638-2901
TTY: 800-366-6888 Relay ND
E-mail: taxinfo@state.nd.us
Website: www.ndtaxdepartment.com

Department of Commerce (DOC)
1600 East Century Avenue, Suite 2
PO Box 2057
Bismarck ND 58502-2057
Phone 701-328-5300
FAX 701-328-5320
TTY 800-366-6888
E-mail: : commerce@state.nd.us
Website: www.ndcommerce.com

DOC--Division of Economic Development and Finance
1600 East Century Avenue, Suite 2
PO Box 2057
Bismarck ND 58502-2057
Phone 701-328-5300
FAX 701-328-5320
TTY 800-366-6888
E-mail: ndedf@state.nd.us
Website: www.growingnd.com

North Dakota Tourism Division
Century Center
1600 East Century Avenue, Suite 2
PO Box, 2057 Bismarck, ND 58503
1-800-HELLO-ND
E-mail: tourism@state.nd.us
Website: www.ndtourism.com

Workforce Development Division
Century Center
1600 East Century Avenue, Suite 2
PO Box, 2057
Bismarck, ND 58503
Phone: 701-328-5345
E-mail: jhirsch@state.nd.us
Website: www.jobsnd.com

Hettinger & Grant Counties’ JDA
Jacob Bratvold, Economic Development Director
PO Box 668 Mott ND 58646
701-824-4205 or 701-622-3260
E-mail: jbratvold@state.nd.us
Website: www.hettingercounty.org