Committee reviews Ed TIF refundable credits as GOEO outlines recruitment and target industries

The committee heard a detailed review of Utah’s refundable economic development tax credits — commonly called Ed TIF — and how the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity (GOEO) recruits and certifies projects in targeted industries and in rural communities.

Chris Stitt, policy analyst with the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel, told the Revenue and Taxation Interim Committee the committee must review tax credits every five years and evaluate each credit’s cost, purpose and effectiveness. He said the Ed TIF program actually consists of two credits: a corporate credit in Title 59, Chapter 7, and an individual credit in Title 59, Chapter 10, with similar mechanics but different target claimants.

Jim Grover, managing director of economic growth at the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity, described how GOEO certifies applicants and calculates refunds. He told the committee the Ed TIF credit is refundable — “if the credit exceeds a taxpayer’s liability, the state will refund the remainder to that taxpayer” — and is tied to a percentage of new state revenues generated after a project’s approval date. Certification is performed by GOEO after a company applies; a GOEO subcommittee recommends a rate and duration, and the full GOEO board votes in public session.

Grover said roughly 60% of Ed TIF recipients are existing Utah companies and that the program aims to trade short‑term reductions in state tax receipts for high‑paying jobs and large capital investments. He described a compliance process that relies on company annual reports plus data from the Utah State Tax Commission (tax-withholding and other paid taxes) and the Department of Workforce Services (unemployment insurance data) to verify claims.

Grover also presented GOEO’s targeted industries — life sciences, aerospace and defense, financial services, information technology, and advanced manufacturing — and said the agency is required by statute to review the targeted list and consult with external advisers such as the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. He described a statewide outreach pipeline: GOEO handles inbound inquiries from out-of-state firms and proactively works with rural communities where local economic-development staff perform most of the active outreach.

Committee members pressed GOEO on hiring and local workforce impacts. Representative Kyle asked whether Ed TIF recipients must hire Utah residents; Grover replied there is no statutory geographic-hiring requirement, but GOEO coordinates with workforce and education programs such as Talent Ready Utah and universities to develop local hiring pipelines. He said GOEO tracks whether companies meet at least 50% of forecasted new high‑pay jobs tied to an incentive; a company that fails to reach agreed benchmarks may see its incentive reduced or eliminated.

Stitt and Grover provided statutory limits governing credit percentages: for projects in first- or second-class counties the statute allows up to 50% of new state revenues in any given year and an additional cap (described in statute) that can extend up to a 20‑year period; similar 50% / 20‑year language applies across county classes with statutory detail varying by class. Committee members requested more data on how many positions were filled by in‑state hires and on program “but-for” outcomes; GOEO said it will collect additional workforce-location data in future reporting.

No committee action was taken; the presentation was informational. Members asked for additional data on claimant counts, program exit rates, and the share of new hires who are Utah residents.