The Business Council of Alabama along with the Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama today presented Sen. Phil Williams, R-Rainbow City, the Business Champion Award for his commitment to improving Alabama’s economic development and industrial recruitment. BCA President and CEO William J. Canary presented the award to Williams at Back Forty Beer Company in Gadsden.
“Senator Williams has been unrelenting in his commitment to providing a positive environment for job creation,” Canary said. “In carrying two critical job-creation bills, the Alabama Jobs Act and the Alabama Reinvestment and Abatements Act, in the Senate, he helped ensure that Alabama will stay current in its recruitment and retention of jobs for large and small businesses.”
“It is an honor to be named a Business Champion by the Business Council of Alabama and the Chamber of Commerce Association,” Williams said. “I will continue to work hard to recruit new jobs to Alabama, while also staying focused on giving strong support to our existing businesses, all the way from Goodyear to the local, family-owned small businesses that are the backbone of our economy in northeast Alabama.”
The Alabama Jobs Act, described as the most significant overhaul of Alabama economic development since Mercedes-Benz came to Alabama, provides two tax credits, which are available to qualifying projects by the Governor upon the recommendation of the Department of Commerce. The first is a jobs credit in the amount of up to 3 percent of the previous year’s annual wages of eligible employees. The second is a capital investment credit in the amount of up to 1.5 percent of qualified annual capital investment. Each credit is available for up to the first 10 years of a project.
The Alabama Reinvestment and Abatements Act promotes capital investment and job growth by expanding the list of projects that qualify for sales, property and mortgage recording tax abatements and enhancing the incentives.
The Business Champion Award recognizes legislators for their support of policies that better Alabama’s business climate and the lives of employees, families, and citizens. Joining Canary for the presentation were Jeremy Arthur, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama, Jason Wilson, owner of Back Forty Beer Company and BCA board member, and other members of the BCA Regional Advisory Committee 8.
The BCA is Alabama’s foremost voice for business. The BCA is a non-partisan statewide business association representing the interests and concerns of nearly 1 million working Alabamians through its member companies and its partnership with the Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama. The BCA is Alabama’s exclusive affiliate to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers.