Incentives for industrial expansion include state and municipally financed industrial sites; state employment development and training funds; revenue bond financing; tax credits for investment in research and development and in capital equipment; loans and loan guarantees for construction and equipment; and financial incentives for locating plants in areas of high unemployment. There are also exemptions from inventory taxes and sales tax on new equipment and raw materials. Major economic development initiatives by the state in 2003 included streamlining the environmental permit process, funding for workforce development, an aggressive business recruitment campaign, infrastructural improvements, increased financial incentives for business, and a phase out of the corporate income tax.