Tax Credits Drive Korean Businesses Out of CA

James Min is an SVP on the Korean Corporate Solutions Desk at Colliers International.

LOS ANGELES—Los Angeles is a gateway city for Korea, and as such, it has always attracted Korean companies looking to set up shop in the US. That trend, however, may be waning. Tax deductions and other incentives are driving Korean companies to look at other markets for US operations, according to James Min, an SVP at Colliers International and the head of the firm’s Korean desk. Min says that demand from Korean companies is going to continue to grow over the next several years, thanks to the strength of the US economy, but Los Angeles may no longer be the landing pad.

“The cost of business operations is higher in Los Angeles than in other states,” Min tells GlobeSt.com. “Some states are offering lower taxes, and some states are offering tax incentives to come to the state or even certain cities. L.A. is a very nice market in terms of location, employee pools and logistics, but other states have nicer incentives and there is a lot of temptation to leave. Los Angeles was the starting point, but now there are other options too.”