CGCC-Chicago Government Credit and Tax Incentives Workshop 

The Government Credit and Tax Incentives Workshop was successfully held on Friday, November 30, 2018 at the CGCC-Chicago conference meeting room. Professional workers in the tax service and law consulting industry, including Mr Michael Eickhoff, Managing Director (Credits and Incentives) of Grant Thornton and Mr. Berne C. Kluber, Partner of Locke Lord LLP, served as the main speakers of the workshop. They shared their insights on maximizing corporate savings as well as dealing with the impact of the newly launched tariff on Chinese imports with representatives from different CGCC-Chicago member enterprises. For this workshop, CGCC-Chicago accepted registrations from non-member enterprises for the first time, aiming to connect with more industry workers and expand the network within Chinese enterprises in the Midwest.  

Mr Eickhoff and his co-worker Sarah introduced different kinds of incentives and non-tax incentives. They pointed out that unlike in many countries rest of the world where tax credits and incentives are formula-based, the incentives in the U.S are usually negotiation-based. Therefore, it is necessary to have a full scope of understanding on what kind of incentives are available, and how to prepare well for the negotiation meeting with the corresponding government bodies. Mr Eickhoff shared tips on how to secure the incentives to maximize the corporate profits, and answered questions from the workshop participants. Mr Kluber then took the podium and shared how Section 301 of the Trade Act specifically in Chinese Imports might hinder and disturb the normal import and distribution procedures for manufacturing companies in the US. He provided some practical recommendations to handle this unprecedented situation.  

After one and a half hour of the sharing and discussion session, the workshop came to an end. The speakers stayed behind for an additional half and hour to network with the workshop participants, and answered further questions they had on their special industry focus. The workshop officially ended at 12 pm.