Cities across North America are bidding to have Amazon locate its secondary headquarters in them. (Spoiler Alert: It will be built in Austin because turning Texas blue is a critical proggie objective.) A lot of localities are offering Amazon incentives and deals that would make the NFL blush. New Jersey is offering a straight-up bribe of $10,000 for each job creates. Boston is offering to put city-paid employees directly to work for Amazon. But Chicago’s proposal really stands out. Chicago is proposing that all the income taxes collected from Amazon’s employees will be kicked back to … Amazon.
Chicago and the state authorities of Illinois have jointly offered to hand Amazon more than $2bn in tax breaks, including $1.32bn of its workers’ income taxes. The scheme, known as a personal income tax diversion, would mean Amazon workers pay full income taxes, but instead of the state getting the money to use for schools, roads and other public services, Amazon would keep it.
The theory, I guess, is that the 50,000 subsidized Amazon jobs would lead to economic growth as its well-paid tech workers purchased goods and services from local business; which sounds a heckuva lot like those “Trickle Down Economics” that Democrats always say don’t work.
If Chicago were to be true to its Democratic-Socialist principles it would tell Amazon, “Tell you what, you locate here, and we will tax the living sh-t out of your revenues, and micromanage your hiring, and regulate you at every turn, and you will smile and say ‘Thank you for allowing us to do business,’ you filthy capitalist running dogs. Also, we expect kickbacks.”
Because that’s how they treat every other business.
It’s really beyond the comprehension of politicians that what they really just need to create a good business environment is to provide good basic municipal services (police, fire, waste management) and a reasonable tax burden.
They don’t understand that concept, but they understand bribes.
Even if Amazon relocates in the People’s Republic of Austin, it will not end up turning Texas blue. Trust me.
We have way too many Right-thinking voters in this state to let the Mistake On The Lake dictate our future.
Regards,
Peter H.
I can’t think of any way that this ploy of Chicago can be legal. But if they try it, and Amazon takes the bait, I hope various entities–like the schools or police (probably the unions)–sue the hell out of the city.
And if any red state were to do this, they would call it “corporate welfare”.
I always thought that giving a corporation a tax break (which is money you AREN’T collecting from them, not money you are giving them) was because the money collected in income tax far outweighed the tax break they were being given.
Now, I won’t discount the economic value of employing people, but that would only be of value if every person they hired were a resident of Chicago, thus lowering the unemployment rate there.
Since they cannot guarantee that, I don’t see why they are doing this.
And here we have another reason why business tax cuts and regulatory relief don’t impress me: the line between business and government is pretty blurry.
While business people claim to be capitalists, there are few interests better at getting Uncle Sucker to indemnify them against risk. “Privatize profit, socialize risk”.
It’s big business at the trough, for the most part, but plenty of small businesses look at these incentives as an opportunity to imbibe the trickle-down runoff.
Some years ago, I worked at a company with a 200+ employees. It was owned by three guys (one of whom held the majority). He commented once, on the news of some hotel chain or something getting some sort of tax deal, “we already employee people, all of whom make more money than most hotel employees – where’s our tax break”.
Equal treatment under the law: quaint.
After the debacle of 2008, most of the people begging for a TARP bailout are still in the biz – richer than ever.
And, now that I happen to be in Austin, I can also tell you that the wannabe Peoples’ Republic is being subverted by the fact that people are waking up to the Proggies imposing ruinous levels of taxation while still managing to create a traffic, schools and services nightmare. Plus we have the Legislature ensuring that whatever damage Travis County can do gets undone every two years.
But yeah, we’re getting HQ2. Mainly because Amazon, despite being run by Progs, is smart enough to know that any tax breaks that Progs promise can be vaporized when they change their minds….while no power short of God is changing the tax structure in Texas, and even He would have trouble doing it.
First San Francisco and now Austin? What is it with ND30 and living in leftist schitholes?
If you want to see what will happen in Austin after Amazon invades, look to Seattle. Rents, both residential and commercial started edging into the stratosphere thanks to A’s high wages. Those unfortunate to be working for companies that can’t/don’t pay as much have found themselves having to live further and further away. Hope Austin has a good public transportation system.
Can’t help it, VdaK. I guess I have a missionary complex. 🙂