Lowering the Cost of Doing Business

BUSINESS PLANNING & TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT

The Kansas City region, which encompasses 18 counties and more than 50 major communities, has traditionally offered a low cost of doing business and has seen manufacturing growth in recent years. Strong support for the life sciences, in addition to the presence of more than 100 animal health-related companies, has resulted in a significant medical device industry in the region. Kansas City is home to nearly 100 medical device companies, employing a little less than 5000 people.

Kansas City has communities located in Kansas and Missouri. Both states offer incentive programs that include forgivable loans, workforce training funds, state income tax credits, property tax abatements, and industry-specific incentives for high-technology jobs.

Specifically for biotechnology companies, including medical device manufacturers, the Kansas City region offers specialized incentive programs that result in a lower-cost location for companies. For instance, the Kansas Biosciences Authority was created to recruit bioscience companies, including medical device companies, to the state of Kansas through incentives such as forgivable loans and research and development vouchers that can be redeemed at Kansas universities to further develop the technology of bioscience companies. The powerful $580 million fund will be generated over the course of 15 years and has already resulted in the recruitment of several new bioscience companies to the state of Kansas. In addition, companies that locate or expand in the state of Kansas are exempt from all state and local property taxes on machinery and equipment.

In addition, the state of Missouri recently enacted the Missouri Quality Jobs Program, which provides sellable income tax credits to qualifying high-tech companies such as medtech manufacturers. Through the program, companies can offset their corporate income taxes or receive refunds for the credits earned. Additionally, companies that are creating jobs may be able to retain Missouri state withholding taxes at a significant level, resulting in refunds annually.

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