“Apple Inc.’s planned new corporate campus in North Austin has been touted as a $1 billion project by everyone from Apple executives and local business leaders to Gov. Greg Abbott,” Bob Sechler writes for The Statesman. “If the campus actually lives up to that billing, however, Apple could receive more than double the original estimate of $16 million in taxpayer-funded incentive payments that Williamson County has agreed to provide the company.”
“That’s because the $16 million figure is based on an assumption that Apple won’t come close to reaching a $1 billion investment during the 15-year term of the incentive deal, according to Williamson County documents obtained by the American-Statesman, even though Apple cited its plan for an ‘investment of $1 billion to build a new campus in North Austin’ in the first sentence of its official announcement of the project last month,” Sechler writes.
“Under the contract with the county, Apple is required to invest $400 million in the campus — not $1 billion — and hire 4,000 workers, in exchange for annual rebates totaling 65 percent of its county property taxes. Williamson County will keep 35 percent of the county property taxes paid by Apple, so the county’s revenue will rise along with the property value despite the rebate,” Sechler writes. “County officials said they don’t consider it particularly noteworthy that the cumulative value of incentives for Apple could top their estimate if the company merely does what it has said it’s going to do, because a higher figure would correspond to more tax revenue for the county. ‘It is an increasing amount of revenue for the county no matter what the upper-end’ value of the incentive ultimately totals, said Cynthia Long, a Williamson County commissioner.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Hey, Apple doesn’t give estimates in press releases that they don’t meet… Uh, on second thought, well, you’ll probably get at least a $400 million investment which, as grandma would say, sure isn’t chopped liver!
The benefits of having a large corporation in your country or state go far, far beyond corporate taxes or even a total lack thereof. Those employees, who would not exist in your state otherwise, pay taxes – income, energy, property, etc., etc., etc. – and buy everything from food to furniture to vehicles in the local economy (each one of those purchases very likely taxed as well). Those who whine about corporate taxes [and/or tax incentives] cannot see the forest for the trees. — MacDailyNews, July 9, 2013
SEE ALSO:
Apple’s gets $41 million in incentives for new Austin campus – December 18, 2018
Apple shows how to select new tech hub locations with class – December 14, 2018
What Apple’s new U.S. job additions tell us about their future product plans – December 14, 2018
Apple to build new $1 billion, 133-acre campus in Austin and add jobs across America – December 13, 2018
Why is it exactly that governments should bribe for profit private companies to get them to set up a business? That sounds like something very close to corporate welfare.
That’s exactly what it is, DG. I’m against one penny of taxpayer money funding the world’s first trillion dollar company and more cash in the bank than the national budgets of many nations. Austin is one of the fastest growing areas in the country. My brother and his family live in the suburb of Round Rock voted the most liveable city a year or two ago. Apple should REJECT growing a billion dollar business on principle, regardless of how much money the operation will add to the local tax rolls. Shameful…