NATCHEZ &8212;Adams County business owners learned Thursday that &8220;time is of the essence&8221; to take advantage of business and tax incentives offered through GO Zone Act.

Several dozen Miss-Lou business owners gathered at the Natchez Convention Center to hear a presentation of GO Zone benefits.

&8220;Time is of the essence,&8221; said Bennett Jeansonne, with Silas Simmons, the sponsor of the event.

In December 2005 President Bush signed the Gulf Opportunity Zone, or GO Zone, Act that provides $6.8 billion in tax relief and incentives to businesses in areas damaged due to last year&8217;s hurricanes.

The zone covers all of south Mississippi including Adams, Wilkinson, Jefferson and Franklin counties, but excludes nearby Louisiana parishes such as Concordia, Catahoula and Tensas.

The GO Zone features a number of incentives and tax credit options, some of which have already expired and some of which continue to be available for a couple more years.

Under the bonus depreciation part of the GO Zone, certain business construction and developments are allowed to deduct 50 percent of the depreciation during the first year of its life.

&8220;I found this presentation very enlightening,&8221; said Henry Watts, of Watts Developers, Builders and Realtors Company Inc.

Watts, who is also an Adams County Supervisor, said he was happy to learn that no limits existed on the amount of investments that can benefit from the GO Zone.

If a business owner builds low-to moderate-income apartments, no matter how much money he or she puts in to them, they could receive at tax break of half of what is spent.

&8220;I&8217;m always ready for the opportunity to build and the idea of building and receiving incentives really appeals to me,&8221; Watts said.

Also under the bonus depreciation portion of the GO Zone Act, a business owner such as Britt Gibson of Carpet Sales and Service said he could receive a tax break when he buys equipment.

&8220;After the presentation I talked to Bennett and found out that I have an option to purchase new equipment to handle granite and that I could receive a substantial incentive,&8221; Gibson said.

The work opportunity credit offers incentives for employers who hire workers to work for the company, inside the core disaster area, after Aug. 28, 2005.

Gibson also said he benefited from this part of the act as well.

&8220;We were lucky because we hired about four or five employees right after Katrina,&8221; Gibson said.

Emmett Burns, an Atlas Van Lines agent, said that he, too, was able to take advantage of work opportunity credit.

&8220;I hired two employees shortly after Katrina, so that was good,&8221; Burns said.