Go Utah Completes Domo EDTIF Investigation

Kaitlyn ClarkeNews

The Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity (Go Utah) was made aware of comments made by a Domo senior executive at a Silicon Slopes Summit event on Oct. 13, 2021, related to an Economic Development Tax Increment Finance (EDTIF) incentive. The EDTIF post-performance tax credit was awarded to Domo on Jan. 14, 2021, based on specific contractual performance conditions, which have not yet been performed or satisfied. 

The statement made by the Domo executive at the Silicon Slopes Summit triggered an investigation of a potential breach of the EDTIF contract. In the past two months, Go Utah received from Domo Inc. two statements and confidential evidence protected under the Government Records Access and Management Act. In partnership with the state’s assistant attorney general, our office reviewed the material made available by Domo.

We determined that the evidence presented was satisfactory to establish that the company is operating in competitive states, has evaluated expansion to California and Washington for the EDTIF contract awarded in Jan. 2021, and is actively assessing corporate growth outside Utah. Therefore, the representation memorialized in the EDTIF contract in Article 5.2 regarding the competitive nature of the project has merit. Our office did not find evidence of a breach, and Go Utah has recommended continuing the tax credit incentive as agreed in the contract.

“We take these matters very seriously. I would like to thank those from our team and the Attorney General’s office for their thorough work investigating this situation,” said Dan Hemmert, the Office of Economic Opportunity’s executive director. “Every company has to go through a rigorous process to receive a post-performance tax incentive and meet specific requirements. We remain committed to the state’s corporate retention and recruitment program (known as EDTIF) and to its efficient and effective administration on behalf of the Legislature.”

Go Utah continues to educate the public about the merits of post-performance incentives and strategically refine the EDTIF program. To learn more about the state’s EDTIF program, please visit business.utah.gov/corporate-retention-recruitment.

About Utah Corporate Incentives

The state’s incentive program is called Economic Development Tax Increment Finance (EDTIF). The Utah Legislature has authorized economic development incentives in the form of post-performance tax credits, which effectively function as temporary marginal tax reductions. Utah does not provide up-front EDTIF cash payments for corporate retention and recruitment. It provides a limited post-performance tax credit after the company meets specific obligations, including capital investment, new high-paying jobs, and additional state tax payments. Eligible companies operate in one of Go Utah’s five targeted industries and work with the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity to outline performance criteria. Once the office confirms those criteria have been met, according to statute (U.C.A. 63N-2-106(2)), companies can receive a refund of a percentage of the new, additional state taxes they paid for a finite period of time.

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