Womble Carlyle Economic Development Digest (May 2016)

Congratulations to Blackbuad for the announcement of its new worldwide corporate headquarters campus in South Carolina!

California

• Congressional candidates weigh in on ideas to improve North State's economy, Record Searchlight (May 7, 2016)
  California focuses upon establishing a more sustainable economy.
• Experts take on climate change at Stanford University conference, The Mercury News (May 7, 2016)
  Stanford University hosts experts to discuss global climate change and the impact on potential incentives to reward sustaining behaviors from companies.
• Congressional candidates give views on infrastructure, Record Searchlight (May 14, 2016)
  California's infrastructure needs could total $65 billion.

Georgia

• Atlanta leaders look for answers in Texas, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (May 3, 2016)
  Leaders from Atlanta, Georgia travel to Dallas, Texas to learn how Texas approaches economic development.
• Georgia extends sunset date of exemption for regionally significant competitive projects, TaxAnalysts.com (May 3, 2016)**
  Georgia HB 937, signed into law as Act 596, changes the sunset date of the exemption for sales of tangible personal property used in the construction of competitive projects of regional significance from June 30, 2019, and extends the sunset date of the excise tax on rental car charges from December 31, 2038, to December 31, 2047.
• Georgia DOR rules taxpayer's new LLC will qualify for high-technology computer exemption, TaxAnalysts.com (February 23, 2016)**
  The Georgia Department of Revenue advised a taxpayer forming a new limited liability company to provide business process and information technology services to its partners that transfers of hardware and software assets from the taxpayer to the new entity will be exempt from sales and use tax under the state's high-technology computer exemption.

North Carolina

• North Carolina tourism posts record 2015; will it continue this year in light of HB 2?, Charlotte Business Journal (May 4, 2016)
  North Carolina begins to feel the impact of HB 2.
• Public records: Commerce learned of PayPal HB2 reversal from the Internet, Triangle Business Journal (May 16, 2016)
  North Carolina state commerce officials attempt to mitigate the impact of HB 2.

South Carolina

• Don't let SRS serve as nuclear dump site, The Post and Courier (May 15, 2016)
  South Carolina deals with significant issues related to nuclear waste site.
• Editorial: Get something done on infrastructure, Greenville Online (May 15, 2016)
  South Carolina continues to examine its massive infrastructure needs and the source(s) of the significant funds needed to fix the roads.
• Blackbaud expanding Berkeley County operations, lowcountrybizSC.com (May 18, 2016)
  Leading tech company Blackbaud announces new worldwide headquarters in South Carolina, adding 300 jobs.
• Morris Ellison discusses smartphone impact on retail in Southeast Real Estate Business article, wcsr.com (May 20, 2016)
  Womble Carlyle attorney, Morris Ellison, writes about how the smartphone revolution has altered current consumer market trends.

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