Competitive Business Advantages

Central Location

Iowa offers great access to major concentrations of consumer and industrial markets. Dyersville, bordering Dubuque and Delaware Counties, is particularly well positioned near the crossroads of two major interstate highways linking the Atlantic and the Pacific, Canada and Mexico. It is also centrally located between several of Iowa's largest cities - Dubuque, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and CedarFalls/Waterloo. A wide range of suppliers and business services is available in the area. The Dyersville area is also a short drive to Chicago, the 3rd largest city in the United States.

Location Advantages

Outstanding road and rail systems provide great access to markets and suppliers. Dyersville is centrally located in Eastern Iowa and in the nation. Excellent highway connections to I-80, I-35, and I-380 make this a first-rate location for business and industry. Four-lane U.S. Highway 20 and State Highway 136 intersect at Dyersville offering quick and easy access to Iowa's biggest population bases. The Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids and the Quad City International Airport are a one-hour drive from Dyersville and the Dubuque Regional Airport offers passenger service to Chicago and Minneapolis is a 25 minute drive from Dyersville. The Prosperity Eastern Iowa region has substantial rail access throughout, provided by a number of carriers including I & M, Canadian National, Union Pacific, Iowa Interstate, Burlington Norther Santa Fe, and Iowa Northwestern.

A wide range of sites and buildings with easy access to major transportation networks is readily available. Historically, costs for land and buildings in the Dyersville area have been lower than the national average.

State-of-the-art-telecommunications - Dyersville offers fiber optic lines with regional points of presence located within the city limits.

Excellent quality of life in the Dyersville area contributes to satisfied workers. Attractive features include the quality and comparative costs of health care services; the availability and affordability of housing; superior education, recreation and cultural opportunities and a variety of retail shopping venues.

Favorable Business Tax Policies

Businesses located in Dyersville can take advantage of a single-factor corporate income tax, no property tax on machinery and equipment, and tax rebate/abatement programs for new construction.

Manufacturing Tax Advantages

Iowa Corporate Income Tax is apportioned solely on sales within Iowa as a proportion of national sales. Payroll and property are not part of the equation. Thus, if you have no sales in Iowa, you would have no corporate income tax to pay in Iowa.

No property tax is levied on new machinery and equipment used for manufacturing.

No sales or use tax on manufacturing machinery and equipment purchases. No personal property (inventory) tax. In Iowa, personal property includes corporate inventories of salable goods, raw materials and goods-in-process...

Local property tax rebates/abatement is available for value added to industrial real estate at the discretion of cities and counties.

Pollution control equipment property tax exemption available.

Iowa has the second lowest total corporate tax burden according to a 16-state comparison by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue. The states included in the comparison are California, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin.

Regional Labor Market

Dyersville is part of a four-county economic development alliance, including Dubuque, Delaware, Jackson and Jones Counties and the cities of DeWitt, Tipton, Springville, and Marion.

Labor Advantages

Wage rates are lower than the national average, providing a competitive advantage.

Iowa's workforce is well-educated. Iowa's 86.4% high school graduation rate ranks among the top two states in the U.S. and Iowa students score at the top on ACT and SAT college entrance exams.

Iowa is a right-to-work state.

Excellent vocation and technical skills training programs are available from Northeast Iowa Community College, Kirkwood Community College and area high schools. Educational institutions work closely with employers to tailor responsive training programs.

Unemployment Insurance tax rates for new employers are among the lowest (1% on a taxable base of $22,800) in the country.

Factors such as the relatively low crime rate, short commute times, an affordable lifestyle, and an enviable quality of life, enhance worker recruitment.

Readily Available Business Assistance

There is excellent support for business and industry from private and public sector groups, with a wide range of business assistance programs. Dyersville Economic Development Corporation work closely Greater Dubuque Development Corporation, Delaware County Economic Development Commission and Prosperity Eastern Iowa to provide services to existing firms and prospective businesses, working in conjunction with local government and the Dyersville Area Chamber of Commerce.

Business Assistance

Iowa offers financial assistance programs to aid businesses with their growth and expansion. Iowa has a wide array of programs ranging from direct cash programs to job training programs to tax credit programs.

Funding for rail and road improvements is available through the Iowa Department of Transportation.

The Iowa New Jobs Training Program provides funds for screening and assessment, on-the-job training reimbursement, in-plant instruction, costs of training facilities, etc., which is paid for by the new employees' withholding taxes at no cost to the employee or company. Businesses utilizing this program may qualify for the New Jobs Credit, a credit to the Iowa corporate income tax. The credit for 2008 is $1,368 per new employee.

Iowa's Regulatory Assistance Program will advise and assist companies in the preparation and submission of permit applications with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and other Iowa regulatory agencies.

Local incentives are offered by the City of Dyersville and Dubuque and Delaware Counties include tax incremental financing, revolving loan funds and low-interest loans.

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