Community Development
Block Grants Program
The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) is a federal program provides funding to communities for basic community services, environmental quality and economic opportunities for their residents.
Types of CDBG
Public Facilities
CDBG Public Facilities grants are typically made available annually on a competitive basis. However, some Public Facilities projects falling under the CDBG Program’s stringent urgent needs/emergencies national objective may be eligible to receive emergency funding. Projects funded under this objective must prove a particular urgency because existing conditions pose a serious and immediate threat to the health or welfare of the community and must meet other criteria, including requirements relating to the date of occurrence of the emergency condition.
Economic development
Mississippi’s CDBG Economic Development program provides funding for eligible public infrastructure improvements and publicly owned building improvements to support businesses launching, locating or expanding in the state. Job creation is critical to CDBG-assisted economic development projects, and a company benefiting from CDBG Economic Development assistance provided to a municipality or county on its behalf must commit to make a certain capital investment and create a certain number of jobs. I
n addition, the CDBG program requires that at least 51 percent of the jobs created must be made available to persons of low and moderate income as determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Industries that are typically eligible for assistance through this program include manufacturers, warehouses and distribution centers, research and development facilities, telecommunications and data processing enterprises and national or regional headquarters.
Eligible projects include: ï‚· Drainage systems ï‚· Water and sewer systems ï‚· Roads, bridges and rail spurs ï‚· Public building rehabilitation or expansion projects For a project to be eligible for CDBG Economic Development assistance, no activity can occur on the site until all necessary federal regulatory and environmental approvals are obtained.
What are the Benefits of a Foreign-Trade Zone?
The benefits associated with zone use will vary depending upon the type of operation involved and authority granted by the Foreign-Trade Zones Board and Customs. Zones may provide some or all of the following benefits: • Duty Exemption • Duty Deferral • Duty Reduction or Inverted Tariff • Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF) Reduction • Streamlined Logistics • Quota Avoidance
Other Benefits:
Better inventory control and security lead to better compliance with CBP requirements; Customs supervision may result in lower security and insurance costs. Duty payable on FTZ merchandise does not need to be included in the calculation of insurable value, again lowering insurance costs. Reduced transportation costs may also result from streamlined logistics. Harbor Maintenance Fee is paid quarterly instead of at the time imports arrive. Merchandise Processing Fees are paid at the time goods leave the zone.
Benefits of a Foreign-Trade Zone in Depth Duty Exemption:
No duties or quota charges on re-exports (exception applies for exports to Canada and Mexico under NAFTA). By using a Foreign-Trade Zone, the company avoids the lengthy Customs duty drawback process. No duty is paid on goods destroyed in the zone, which can benefit a company with fragile imports or with manufacturing processes that result in large amounts of scrap.
Duty Deferral:
Customs duties and federal excise tax deferred on imports until they leave the zone and enter the U.S. Customs territory. (Zone merchandise may move in-bond, Zone-to-Zone transfers without payment of duty.) Unlike bonded warehouses or temporary importing under bond programs, there is no limit on the length of time that merchandise may remain within the Zone, whether or not duty is owed.
Duty Reduction (Inverted Tariff):
Where zone manufacturing results in a finished product that has a lower US Harmonized Tariff rate than the rates on foreign inputs, the finished product may be entered into the U.S. Customs territory at the duty rate that applies to its finished condition. Moreover, duty is not owed on labor, overhead or profit attributable to zone production operations.
Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF) Reduction:
MPF is only paid on goods entering the U.S. Customs territory. Zone users are able to file a single entry for all goods shipped from a zone in a consecutive seven-day period instead of one entry file for each shipment (excluding merchandise subject to live entry). MPF fees are charged at 0.3464% of the Total Estimated Value (TEV) of the shipment, with a minimum fee of $25 and a maximum fee of $485 per entry. Fewer entry filings can also reduce Brokerage fees.
Streamlined Logistics:
Upon approval from Customs, imports may be directly delivered to the zone. Users may also request permission to break and affix Customs seals. A single entry may be filed for seven consecutive days’ worth of entries and exports.
Quota Avoidance: In most instances, imports subject to quota may be retained within a Foreign Trade Zone once a quota has been reached allowing zone users access to potentially discounted inputs and the ability to admit merchandise as soon as a new quota year starts. Additionally, except for certain textiles, inputs subject to quota may be manipulated or manufactured while in the zone into a product not subject to a quota.