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10 Reasons to Start or Relocate to New York City

With so many viable options for great locations to start or relocate a business, think Big Apple.

- Austin Heiman

With so many viable options for great locations to start or relocate a business, think Big Apple. -Austin Heiman

With 54 fortune 500 companies and thousands of both small and large businesses, New York City is a great home for any fresh start-up or well established company. Your reasons for a move may be numerous, but I have created a simple guide as to the ten best reasons that New York City will help your business thrive.

1. People and The Numbers - With the highest population density in the United States, at nearly 71,000 people per square mile, Manhattan offers both the deepest and broadest base of consumers for business to access locally. Not only does Manhattan offer an almost unlimited supply of over 1,600,00 potential local clients and customers, but as the 6th most visited city in the world, tourists offer a large opportunity for businesses as well. In 2008, New York City had a record setting 47 million tourist visits, resulting in over $30 billion in additional spending . These numbers continue to increase yearly, and will aid in the expansion of businesses. Manhattan's local market offers a great opportunity for businesses, but it simultaneously grants access to markets both national and abroad.

2. Direct Access to Markets - As the United States' hub for international business, New York City places companies in a prime position to interact efficiently with companies and clients in other nations. Choosing New York City as the location for one's business centers one's company in the heart of business in America. Not only will companies benefit from the intense pace and grow from competition in the New York City area, but they will also have the opportunity to establish a foundation and gain exposure in a premier city that will draw customer and clients from around the nation.

3. Superior Telecommunications Hub - To communicate effectively with both local and global markets, New York City offers the most advanced telecommunications network in the world. With so much activity and demand for improvements, New York City is committed to advancing their communication technology to allow its inhabitants and businesses to compete with the technological advances of other major cities. When technology improves, New York City is the first to utilize this advancement, and running one's business in New York will allow for one to reap the benefits of the availability of the most advanced forms of communication available.

4. Transit & Transport - New York City is the most mobile city in the world. From the extensive subway system stretching to all of the boroughs of the city, to the convenient rail system allowing employees to commute traffic free every day, New York City allows for extremely stress free transportation both to and from the heart of the city. Along with the ease of the public transit system, New York City is home two three major commercial airports, John F Kennedy International, LaGuardia, and Newark. These airports give access to reach potential clients whether it be flying out salesmen or bringing in clients from all of the world for face to face meetings. New York City's transportation system is unsurpassed by any other city, and this can be a tremendous asset to running a business for both employees and clients alike.

5. New York Attracts - When starting a business or relocating, one key factor that may at times be overlooked, is the impact of the location on the employee satisfaction and willingness to relocate. New York City has so much diversity in its attractions, that most current employees or potential employees would love to move there. Many times a company would like to locate itself somewhere where the costs may be a bit cheaper, but in those places, the quality of labor and number of employees that will be willing to live there will suffer. A business would be much better off selecting from the top professionals or graduates in the country rather than choosing from the few that are willing to relocate to somewhere without the countless attractions of New York City. Not only will simply locating one's business in New York City attract the best employees from all over the nation, but also New York City is surrounded by many of the top institutions in the world.

6. Trained & Ready - New York City is situated in a location with an abundance of top tier universities nearby. These institutions educate some of the smartest people in the world, and proximity to these schools allows businesses to attract some of the most highly qualified interns and graduates to bring bright, young ideas to their firms. The New York City area is the perfect location to draw potential employees fresh out of premier universities, which is essential for developing fresh ideas as well as developing new leaders for the future.

7- Improvements - Yet another unforeseen benefit of locating one's business in New York City, is the low crime rate. Low crime rates have a positive impact on business by increasing the quality of life for both employees and customers, as well as demonstrating safety and stability for potential investors and potential employees. New York state has the 5th lowest crime rate in the entire United States, and New York City itself has the lowest crime rate compared to all of the major cities in the United States as well . New York City is currently at its lowest crime rate in over 40 years and this rate has been declining steadily for the past ten years.

8- Taxes & You - On the more financial side, New York City has many tax benefits for businesses as well, many of them having to do with the topic of labor. One example of these tax incentives is that New York has very low rate of workers' compensation benefits that need to be paid. Currently New York Ranks 9th in the country with only $0.72 per $100 in wages going towards workers' compensation . This benefits business by greatly reducing labor costs, or paying higher wages to maintain employee satisfaction or higher more experienced workers. New York also has a very low unemployment tax. A high unemployment tax harms business by making labor relatively more expensive. A location with a low unemployment tax results in direct savings for businesses, and New York ranks fifth in the nation with a rate of .99 on a scale that reaches 6.51 in the worst states.

9- Other Incentives- New York City has other tax incentives for companies in certain sectors, as well as a certification system that allows companies to seek tax breaks. For example, companies in the technology sector can become a “Qualified Emerging Technology Company.” Once qualified New York offers tax breaks during employee training, facility construction, and even day to day operations to help allow technology companies in New York City to become as competitive as possible. Another similar program is the New York Empire Zones system . The Empire Zone system allows certified companies to benefit from wage tax credits, investments tax credits, zone capital credits, and New York state sales tax refund for company purchases. New York City values its businesses and strives to help new businesses begin as well as allow current companies to continue expanding.

Another very important tax incentive for New York is section 1031 of the Internal Revenue code. Section 1031 refers to Tax Deferred Exchange, and can benefit companies during any sale of commercial property. Tax Deferred Exchange allows companies who sell a property to use the revenue from the sale to purchase another property without paying any taxes on gains from the sale. The law requires an intermediary to make the exchange of property from the seller and collects the payment from the buyer. The intermediary then has 180 days to purchase a property of equal or greater value for the original seller to receive as payment for the original property, thus avoiding any taxes on gains from the sale. This law not only benefits real estate companies, but will also help any company that owns property because as they expand or change locations, their profit on their property appreciation will all remain in the business.

10- Financing - New York City can also be a great place to start or move a business to because of the availability of financial support. New York offers discounted loans for companies just getting started or expanding current facilities. New York has a “Linked Deposit Program,” in which companies can receive a two to three percent reduction in the interest rate for loans from banks, and the state reimburses the banks for their loss in interest . This program can make borrowing much less costly for new businesses that require large amounts of start up capital.

New York City offers the complete package when looking for the perfect home for your business. It has the diverse local and global market, abundance of the brightest employees in the world, tax incentives, and an overall great quality of life for both your employees and customers.

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