In the race to win Amazon’s second headquarters, states and localities have revealed just how far they are willing to go to win the online retailer’s business.
And it may be resulting in bigger-than-necessary payouts to Amazon, Governing reports.
According to the latest data available from Good Jobs First, which tracks tax incentives, state and local governments have already promised a minimum of $1.6 billion in corporate subsidies to Amazon since 2000.
The company’s HQ2 search could easily double that amount. Arlington, Texas, was prepared to offer nearly $1 billion in state and local subsidies, while Atlanta and Columbus, Ohio, are reportedly offering more than $2 billion.
“This is basically Amazon’s way of gathering a lot of information for free in a short amount of time and understanding the incentives those localities are willing to offer,” says Kasia Tarczynska, who curates the data on Amazon for Good Jobs First.
The Birmingham metro area, for example, was one of the hundreds that bid for Amazon’s HQ2 and didn’t make the short list released in January. But just weeks ago, Amazon announced it would open a new distribution center there and create 1,500 jobs.
For doing so, the company will receive $51 million in state, county and local tax incentives, on top of an unspecified amount in local occupational tax incentives, and the deal was hailed by regional leaders as a huge win. Others, however, complain that other cities have landed similar Amazon distribution operations while offering far less in subsidies, leading some to suggest Birmingham is overpaying for the cachet of being linked to online giant.
