Economic Briefing Newsletter - Metro Atlanta Chamber

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CORPORATE OPERATIONS & BUSINESS SERVICES INSURANCE GIANT KEEPS ON GROWING Georgia’s largest insurer, with its regional headquarters in metro Atlanta, will open a new customer service center. State Farm plans to create approximately 500 jobs and occupy 400,000 square feet in Dunwoody (DeKalb County). Scheduled to open by the end of 2012, the facility will house clerical, technical and management personnel for the insurer’s sales, services and claims processing. “State Farm’s decision was driven solely by how we can best serve our customers,” said company spokesman Justin Tomczak. This growth comes on the heels of State Farm’s consolidation at its 56-acre regional headquarters campus in Johns Creek (North Fulton County). In 2011, the company decided to centralize its auto insurance and fire underwriting operations, adding as many as 400 jobs. Overall, State Farm employs approximately 2,000 people throughout Georgia, excluding independent agents. INDIAN COMPANY OPENS BPO CENTER Infosys BPO, the Business Process Outsourcing subsidiary of Infosys Limited (NASDAQ: INFY), opened its Atlanta delivery center in Smyrna (Cobb County). The Delivery Center, Infosys’ second metro Atlanta location, was opened to achieve customer proximity and to provide cost effective and high productivity-yielding delivery operations. Infosys projects up to 250 jobs. An end-to-end outsourcing services provider, Infosys BPO addresses business challenges and unlocks business value by applying proven process methodologies, integrated IT and business process outsourcing solutions. The company consistently ranks among the leading BPO companies in India by industry bodies such as Global Outsourcing 100 (The International Association of Outsourcing Professionals), FAO Today, and NelsonHall. 8 | Metro Atlanta Chamber NOVELIS GLOBAL RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY CENTER OPENS Atlanta-based aluminum products manufacturer and recycler, Novelis, held the grand opening of its new global hub of the company’s research and development operations in Kennesaw (Cobb County). The 160,000-square-foot facility includes materials and testing labs, a pilot beverage can production line, as well as meeting space. NOVELIS Novelis, a subsidiary of India’s Hindalco Industries Limited, projects up to 150 jobs. “The new Global Research & Technology Center will bring together some of world’s leading metallurgists, materials scientists, engineers and technologists all working for the benefit of Novelis’ customers across the globe,” said Stefan Erdmann, Novelis’ Vice President of Global R&D. “The center will tackle challenges ranging from increasing fuel efficiency in automobiles to making consumer packaging and electronics products more sustainable.” Novelis will be working with the Georgia Institute of Technology and Southern Polytechnic State University on research and workforce development. 2012 FORTUNE 500 HEADQUARTERS Atlanta ranks third in the nation among cities with the most FORTUNE 500 Headquarters, according to the Metro Atlanta Chamber’s analysis of the 2012 FORTUNE list released in May. Since Atlanta hosted the 1996 Summer Olympics, the city has consistently ranked in the top five cities with the most FORTUNE 500 Headquarters. Twenty-six metro Atlanta headquartered companies placed among the latest FORTUNE 1,000, of which thirteen are among the FORTUNE 500. Photo courtesy of Novelis Inc.
GEORGIA NEWS GEORGIA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT UPDATE The 2012 session of the Georgia General Assembly adjourned on March 30, 2012, resulting in major strides in economic development initiatives to propel Georgia’s economy forward. Highlights include: • Gov. Deal approved an unprecedented increase in Georgia’s REBA state dealclosing fund for major economic development projects. Now $78.5 million, Georgia’s fund becomes one of the biggest in the nation. • Georgia’s job and port tax credits were enhanced to include biomedical manufacturing and alternative energy production as eligible industries. • Georgia’s R&D tax credit was enhanced to offer a stronger cash incentive to companies without corporate income tax liability. • Georgia’s omnibus tax bill included a discretionary sales tax exemption on the energy used in manufacturing and on construction materials used in major projects that create new jobs. • Georgia’s Employee Retirement System will open up to alternative investments, including venture capital. • Georgia’s international arbitration code was updated to position Georgia as one of the few global destinations for the settlement of complex disputes between international companies. ATLANTA’S LOW COST OF DOING BUSINESS In March 2012, KPMG released two favorable studies for metro Atlanta that examine business location costs and corporate tax burdens throughout the nation. KPMG’s “Competitive Alternatives 2012: Guide to International Business Location Costs” measured the combined impact of 26 significant cost components including labor, facility, utility, and transportation costs, as well as taxes. Total business costs are expressed as an index, with the baseline index of 100.0 being assigned to the United States. Atlanta’s index of 96.2 signifies the least-costly location to do business among the 10 largest U.S. metro areas. KPMG’s “Location Matters: A Comparative Analysis of State Tax Costs on Business”, in collaboration with The Tax Foundation, measured corporate income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, unemployment insurance taxes, capital stock taxes, inventory taxes and gross receipts taxes. Georgia was ranked in the top 10 states with the lowest average tax burden for both mature and new firms. Lowest Cost of Doing Business – Top 10 Largest U.S. Metro Areas Rank Metro Index 1 Atlanta, GA 96.2 2 Dallas-Fort Worth, TX 96.5 3 Houston, TX 97.8 4 Miami, FL 97.8 5 Northern VA (DC) 99.2 6 Chicago, IL 99.3 7 Philadelphia, PA 99.4 8 Los Angeles, CA 100.9 9 Boston, MA 101.2 10 New York, NY 103.4 Lowest Corporate Tax Lowest Corporate Tax Burden for Mature Firms Burden for New Firms Rank State Rank State 1 Wyoming 1 Nebraska 2 South Dakota 2 Louisiana 3 Georgia 3 Ohio 4 Nevada 4 Wisconsin 5 Ohio 5 Oklahoma 6 Utah 6 Georgia 7 North Carolina 7 Kentucky 8 Maryland 8 Arkansas 9 Nebraska 9 Wyoming 10 Louisiana 10 Utah Source: KPMG, 2012 Source: KPMG and The Tax Foundation, 2012 Photo © Georgia Department of Economic Development PORTS CRITICAL TO ATLANTA’S ECONOMY As policymakers and the business community work to advocate federal funding for the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project (SHEP), a recent economic impact study reinforces the importance of Georgia’s ports. In May, the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business released “The Economic Impact of Georgia’s Deepwater Ports,” which found that the state’s ports support 352,146 jobs across the state and a $66.9 billion impact on the state’s economy. In the 10-county Atlanta region, more than 156,000 jobs are port-related. Atlanta businesses shipped or received approximately 165,000 TEUs (20-foot equivalent container units) in FY 2011, more than $8.6 billion in port business. DID YOU KNOW? • CareerCast named Atlanta among the top 10 cities for finding a job (March 2012) • Thumbtack.com, in partnership with the Kauffman Foundation, named Atlanta as the fifth friendliest city for small businesses (May 2012) • The U.S. Census Bureau released metro Atlanta’s population estimate for 2011: 5,359,205, ranking 9th largest metro area in the nation (April 2012) • Forbes named Atlanta and Savannah among the top 25 best places to retire (June 2012) • Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport won Air Cargo Week’s World Air Cargo Award for Airport of the Year for a third time (June 2012) MID-YEAR 2012 ECONOMIC BRIEFING | 9 Photo © Georgia Department of Economic Development
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Economic Briefing Newsletter - Metro Atlanta Chamber

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