MENU

My Favorites

Add Page

You have 0 items saved in "My Favorites"

Use "My Favorites" to collect pages, downloads, properties, companies, and reports that you would like to keep in one place. To store a page, click on the "Add to My Favorites" button at the top of the page. To store a download, click on the plus button next to the download link. To store a property or company or community, click on the "Add to My Favorites" button listed next to each listing. Reports that are generated are automatically saved to My Favorites. My Favorites will be saved for seven days.

▶ VIEW & EDIT MY FAVORITES

North Louisiana's business climate continues to improve as the state reforms it regulations, tax structure and ethics codes to make it easier for companies to operate in our state.

North Louisiana's Business Climate Climbs the National Rankings

North Louisiana and the state consistently climb the national rankings for best business climate. For the past four years, no state has improved more than Louisiana.

BEST NATIONAL BUSINESS CLIMATE RANKINGS:

Louisiana ranks No. 1 for Cyber Security Growth Potential, bolstered by North Louisiana cyber corridor (Business Facilities 2017)
Louisiana ranks No. 1 for Workforce Training (Business Facilities 2017)
Louisiana ranks No. 3 for Best Infrastructure (Business Facilities 2017)
Louisiana ranks No. 9 for Export Leader (Business Facilities 2017)
Louisiana ranks No. 10 for Lowest Electricity Rates (Business Facilities 2017)
Louisiana ranks No. 6 nationally for economic development (Site Selection 2016)
Louisiana ranks No. 3 in tech sector job growth with a 6.3 percent increase (Cyberstates Report 2016)
Louisiana ranks No. 1 in economic development (Southern Business & Development 2016)

2017

Shreveport-Bossier MSA ranks No. 2 as an Emerging Cybersecurity Hub (Business Facilities))
Shreveport-Bossier MSA ranks No. 4 for Economic Growth Potential (Population Less Than 300k) (Business Facilities)
Shreveport-Bossier MSA ranks No. 10 for Lowest Cost of Living (Business Facilties)

2016

North Louisiana ranks as the no.1 most cost competitive with a Business Index of 91.3. (KPMG Competitive Alternatives)

IBM in Monroe, LA and Monster Moto in Ruston, LA named CiCi Award Recipients for Community Impact (Trade & Industry Development, March 2016)

Bossier Parish Wins a National Award for Promoting a Knowledge Economy (2016 Achievement Award from the National Association of Counties)

City of Monroe wins Community Achievement Award for Economic Development among large cities (Louisiana Municipal Association)

City of Ruston wins Community Achievement Award for Economic Development for 10,001 to 25,000 population size. (Louisiana Municipal Association)

2015

Shreveport Ranks in the Top Ten of Most Millennial Friendly Cities (Bloomberg Business)

Monroe Ranks No. 12 among "Best Cities for Women Entrepreneurs" (GoodCall.com)

West Monroe Ranks 19th among the “Best Cities for Young Families in LA” (NerdWallet)

Bossier City Ranks 22nd among the “Best Cities for Young Families in LA” (NerdWallet)

Ruston and Bastrop were tied for No. 74 as Top Micropolitans (Site Selection )

Natchitoches Named Best Southern Small Town (USA Today Readers Choice Poll)

Shreveport recognized as the number one place to build a new business (WalletHub)

North Louisiana has three of the top 100 best bass fishing lakes in the country, including No. 1 Toledo Bend. Lake Bistineau (No. 27), the Red River (77) and the Atchafayala Basin (98).

Monroe ranks among the 50 best college towns to live in forever (College Ranker, March 2015)

IntegriCo Composites recognized as the CiCi Award Recipient for Community Impact (Trade & Industry Development)

2014

Shreveport Bossier ranks in the top 25 Cities on the Rise in LA (NerdWallet.com)

Natchitoches Ranks as No. 7 “City on the Rise in LA” (NerdWallet.com)

Bossier City ranks No. 9 as "Best Cities for Single Mothers" (NerdWallet.com)

Shreveport Bossier recognized as the 3rd Happiest City in America (Harvard University Study, 2014)

Three of the Most Affordable Hospitals in LA are in North Louisiana

Willis-Knighton Health System
LSU Health- Shreveport
Natchitoches Regional Medical Center

Monroe ranks in the top 20 Happiest Cities in America (Harvard University Study, 2014)

Shreveport ranked No. 18 of the ``Best Cities to Start a Business'' list. (Wallet-Hub.com, March 2014)

Bossier City named No. 7 for “Best Places to Find a New Job” – Money magazine

Shreveport-Bossier ranked among the “Best Opportunity Cities” – Forbes magazine

Monroe-West Monroe ranked No. 4 among the "Cities on the Rise in LA," because of population growth, employment growth and income growth. - Nerdwallet.com, consumer advocacy website

Shreveport-Bossier named a “Game Changing Community” because of its economic potential- Southern Business & Development (SB&D), an economic development journal

Shreveport was ranked No. 3 on the top five small cities to live, work and make movies in (Movie Maker Magazine)

North Louisiana: Lowest Cost of Business

Our region offers the lowest cost of doing business in the nation and in North America, as ranked by Forbes magazine (2011) and KPMG Competitive Alternatives (2010). North Louisiana's cost competitive tax structure, utility rates, transportation and labor costs offer businesses a sustainable solution for competing nationally and globally.

A Business-Friendly Tax Environment

Louisiana encourages business development by eliminating several taxes and creating a more business-friendly tax structure.

Louisiana’s low-tax environment offers new business operations significant cost savings. According to a 50-state analysis by the Tax Foundation and KPMG: Location Matters (2015), Louisiana ranks as the second-lowest tax burden for new business operations.
In 2008, Louisiana ranked No. 6 for states with the lowest tax burden (Anderson Economic Group's State Business Tax Burden State Rankings)
Louisiana also ranked No. 6 on business taxes to state profits
Louisiana ranked No. 2 on business taxes to private GSP
Taxes consumed only 12.2 percent of Louisiana business profits, compared to the national average of 16.7 percent

TAXES ELIMINATED:

Sales tax on manufacturing machinery and equipment
Sales tax on natural gas and business utilities
Capital gains tax on the sale of privately held businesses
Phase out of the franchise tax on corporate debt by 2011
Minimum corporate franchise tax

Louisiana also deducts federal income tax from state corporate income tax. These pro-growth policies have strengthened Louisiana’s tax environment, making it a more competitive place to invest and develop a business. The state has also recently implemented the largest personal income tax cut in state history, putting more money back into the pockets of Louisiana’s taxpayers.

State, Regional & Local Incentives Reduce Tax Liability

Businesses in Louisiana have access to a competitive, comprehensive portfolio of state, federal and local incentives that can make a profound impact on a company’s bottom line. Incentives, such as Enterprise Zone, Quality Jobs, Research & Development Tax Credit, Industrial Tax Exemption and Louisiana FastStart™ are available to help companies compete and succeed.

NLEP can provide advocacy and assistance with applying with statutory incentive programs. We can also assist companies with requesting for discretionary state, regional or local incentives. Please contact our business development team for more information. (Qualifying for many of the incentive programs depends on job creation and capital investment.)

Good Deals for Manufacturers

Louisiana’s use of single-factor sales apportionment to calculate manufacturers’ corporate income taxes. This provides a significant cost advantage, because manufacturers are not taxed on earnings generated by sales to out-of-state entities. This is not the case in the majority of other states. As of July 1, 2009, electricity, water, natural gas, machinery and equipment used by manufacturers are exempt from Louisiana sales tax.

Inventory Tax Advantage

In Louisiana, when a business files its state income and franchise tax, it can simply claim the amount it paid to local authorities for inventory taxes as a refundable credit. If the inventory taxes paid to the local authorities exceed the company’s state income and franchise tax liabilities, the company gets the balance as a refund.

Combined with the state’s strong logistics and infrastructure, comprehensive workforce development network, innovative industry developments, and low cost of doing business, North Louisiana is the place for business investment.

Expedited Permitting

To maximize time and efficiency for companies, the state has created an expedited environmental permit-processing program, which enables Louisiana to issue permits more quickly and efficiently than most states in the country.