“North Carolina lawmakers are pushing to give Apple Inc. a multi-million dollar tax break should the company bring an East Coast computer server farm to the state — an estimated $1 billion investment, according to a state official with knowledge of the recruitment efforts,” Emery P. Dalesio reports for the Associated Press.
“The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the state’s recruitment efforts are confidential,” Dalesio reports. “Spokeswomen for Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple and the state Commerce Department, the lead agency in business development, declined to comment.”
“While it has been known that North Carolina lawmakers were working on changing tax rules to benefit one company, the name of the outfit has been kept secret. The state official said Catawba and Cleveland counties are potential sites,” Dalesio reports.
“The tax breaks could be worth about $46 million in the next decade, assuming the company reaches its $1 billion investment target within nine years of starting, according to a memo by legislative fiscal staffers that does not identify the company. The memo said no current company meets the criteria to receive the tax break and the Commerce Department knows of just one with the potential to qualify,” Dalesio reports.
“Technology giants have responded to booming Internet use by building server farms: huge, climate-controlled computer warehouses that can store enormous amounts of information and process vast flows of data. They are heavy users of power and water and are usually spread over large spaces,” Dalesio reports. “Though the Apple site is initially expected to employ fewer than 100 full-time workers, legislators said the potential prize was so juicy it justified changing the state’s corporate tax formula to benefit a single company.”
Full article here.
