February 16, 2012
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Department of Commerce announced today that 679 new jobs will be created by two companies recently accepted into the Oklahoma Quality Jobs Program (QJP) in January. The information below includes:
| Company Name | Town Location | Town Population | New Jobs | NAICS Code | Benefit Rate | New or Expanded | Maximum Benefits |
|
Continental Resources, Inc. |
OKC | 579,999 | 416 | 21111 | 5.00% | Expanded | $20,388,044 |
|
Cameron International Corporation |
Moore | 55,081 | 263 | 3329 | 5.00% | Expanded | $5,278,922 |
About the new QJP enrollees:
Continental Resources, Inc. is an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company.
Cameron International Corporation is a manufacturer of flow equipment, systems and services to worldwide oil, gas and process industries.
The Oklahoma Quality Jobs Program allows qualifying establishments creating new quality jobs to receive an incentive to expand or locate in Oklahoma. Administered by the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, the program provides quarterly cash payments of up to 5 percent of new taxable payroll directly to a qualifying company for up to 10 years.
Since its inception in 1993, the Quality Jobs Program has issued more than 630 contracts to locating, expanding and start-up businesses and brought thousands of jobs to Oklahoma. This last December saw more Quality Jobs participants than any single month in the 19-year history of the program.
The state also benefits from new state personal income tax, sales and other consumption tax receipts as well as multiplier benefits from the added workers. Quality Jobs is a revenue neutral program and is risk-free to the state because without new payroll, companies do not receive rebates.
To qualify, a company must be a central administrative office, manufacturer, research and development, or a listed service company with 75 percent of total sales to out-of-state customers. Most companies must achieve a $2.5 million taxable payroll for any four consecutive quarters during the first 12 quarters in the program. Once the company achieves the threshold, it may remain in the program and receive incentive payments for the rest of the 10-year period as long as it continues to maintain the $2.5 million payroll and meet the average wage requirements. All businesses must offer basic health insurance coverage to all employees, and 80 percent of employees must work at least 30 hours per week.
The amount of each company's incentive is determined through a cost-benefit analysis prepared by the Oklahoma Department of Commerce. Costs to the state resulting from in-migration may decrease the amount of benefit the state receives from a company, thus lowering the incentive payment. Payments cannot exceed 5 percent of payroll and have historically averaged about 4.5 percent.
Companies that receive incentive payments may also be eligible for the five-year ad valorem tax exemption (manufacturing), free industry training program, foreign trade zone and freeport benefits, and other technical/financial assistance programs. Firms cannot utilize the new jobs investment tax credit, sales tax rebates for construction, and a variety of additional tax credits and exemptions. For more information on business retention and expansion activities in Oklahoma, visit www.OKcommerce.gov/bre.