California Bullish on Corporate Tax Credit Despite Dip in Awards

California’s signature corporate tax incentive program is sitting on $645 million—and growing—in credits it could award to companies for increasing jobs in the state, and program officials say reversing the trend is beyond their control.

Economic uncertainty and the program’s shift away from small businesses in 2018 partially explain how California Competes tax credits are piling up, according to program officials. Fewer strong applicants are coming forward for credits that in the past have gone to the likes of Tesla Inc., General Motors Co., and Microsoft Corp. And officials are getting better at weeding out applications from ...