From Charlotte Observer:
The last several weeks of 2018 featured a wave of companies announcing plans to move their corporate headquarters to Charlotte or grow their headcount here, moves made easier by millions of dollars in incentives from local and state governments.
By examining the maximum potential incentives grant each finalist location could offer, researchers said that Amazon likely made its decision well before putting out its request for proposals in September 2017, and that any subsidies offered would just be “extra icing on the cake.
“Offering economic subsidies to one corporation or industry inevitably requires tradeoffs that force other businesses and taxpayers to pay higher taxes or force local residents to endure lower-quality public services, or both,” researchers wrote.
JLF’s Mitch Kokai weighed in to Charlotte Observer on incentives:
Mitch Kokai, a senior political analyst with the John Locke Foundation, a conservative Raleigh-based think tank, said that instead of targeted tax incentives, politicians ought to focus on policies and incentives that spur broad-based economic growth, such as investing in education and infrastructure.
When it comes to incentives, Charlotte, he added, is in a unique position, given its geography.
“I would be very surprised if Charlotte got away from the incentives game any time soon,” Kokai said. “Because they’re on the state line, it’s easy for companies based in Charlotte to say, ‘Well heck we could move across the state line to Rock Hill.’ ”
Read the entire article here.
