The GO Zone … Get GOing Before It's Gone I f you're looking to expand, relocate or start a new business, the Mississippi Gulf Coast is the place and now is the time. Significant incentives are currently available for your business, including the GO Zone.    For many areas in the GO Zone, time is running out to qualify for the business incentives offered by the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act. But for five coastal Mississippi counties – Harrison, Hancock, Jackson, Pearl River and Stone – the deadline has been extended, and coast economic development agencies are urging investors to take advantage of the GO Zone incentives before it's too late.    Offering $4.9 billion in tax-exempt bonds just in Mississippi, and other significant business benefits, the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act was passed by Congress to promote the rebuilding of businesses and encourage new investments in areas affected by hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma in 2005. However, since its passage in December 2005, only $700,000 of the $4.9 billion has been allocated throughout the 49 Mississippi counties within the GO Zone.    "The GO Zone legislation can help businesses save a tremendous amount of money," says Larry Barnett, executive director of the Harrison County Development Commission, "but only if they take the time to find out about it and apply. If you're not familiar with what's offered in the GO Zone, we can provide you helpful information. If you're worried about the qualifying process, we'll provide you assistance with that too."    Barnett stresses that investors should not be intimidated by the process of qualifying for GO Zone incentives. "Although it is a government program, it doesn't carry all of the red tape that one might expect," says Barnett. "It's almost as easy as applying for a bank loan."    Within the GO Zone, tax benefits are available to business owners of all sizes. Among the benefits that businesses may be eligible for are: 50 percent bonus depreciation    • Allows businesses of all sizes to claim an additional first year depreciation deduction equal to 50 percent of the cost of new capital investments made in the Zone.    • Applies to investments in equipment, non-residential real property or residential rental property.    • Extended deadline for the five coastal Mississippi counties is December 31, 2010.    • Depreciation is to be taken in lieu of tax-exempt bonds. Tax-exempt bonds    • Provide private business owners and corporations financing for construction and reconstruction with tax-exempt debt.    • Interest on bonds is exempt from federal and State of Mississippi income taxes.    • Extended deadline for the five coastal Mississippi counties is December 31, 2010.    • Businesses using bonds may be eligible for additional significant state-law incentives in connection with its financing, such as property or income tax exemptions.    The GO Zone incentives do have some exclusions and exceptions, but as Barnett says, "You'll never know unless you try." And with the free assistance of the local economic development agencies, there is no reason not to try.    The Mississippi Gulf Coast Alliance for Economic Development, a professional partnership of the six coastal Mississippi counties (includes George County, which did not qualify for the GO Zone deadline extension), has taken many steps to help inform individuals, locally, out-of-state and abroad, of the area's business incentives, including the GO Zone. Informative workshops, trade publication advertising and trade show attendance are a few of the ways the agencies have attempted to get the word out about what the Mississippi Gulf Coast has to offer.    Another valuable incentive for business owners on the Mississippi Gulf Coast is the Worker Training Grant. The $31 million grant has been provided for worker training in the six coastal counties. The program is expected to help nearly 10,000 workers improve their job skills in a wide variety of industries.    "We are aggressively seeking investors to come join in the rebuilding on the Mississippi Gulf Coast," says Barnett. "Our area already has so much to offer in the way of business amenities, and with the significant incentives offered in the GO Zone program, we have a package that's hard to beat."    To find out more about the GO Zone and the other great business incentives and amenities on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, call the Harrison County Development Commission or visit their Web site.    Contact: Larry Barnett, Executive Director, 228-896-5020, www.mscoast.org.