It seems that people are starting to add up the cost of their tax sweeteners with Intel and they are not liking the numbers they are seeing.
Blue Oregon has reported that Chipzilla has asked for, and may well get their second dose of 30 year “tax certainty”,
This means that Intel does not have to pay Oregon income taxes for 30 years. But that was not enough, it is negotiating with Washington County Commissioners and the Hillsboro City Council on getting the same low property taxes they’ve had for the last 20 years as well.
There were a few people who do not think this a good idea and the Washington County Commission’s and the Hillsboro City Council’s open comment periods saw tax payers ask elected representatives a few questions about why Intel was being allowed nearly a tax free life.
Of course, the elected representatives are unlikely to agree with the taxpayers, and seem certain to pledge Intel 30 years’ worth of tax breaks. They will say that Intel is promising to keep at least 17,500 Oregon employees for the next 30 years and will invest $100 billion in the region during that time.
However, those pesky tax payers with their slide rules point out that Intel is not promising anything as part of the deal and even if it was, it stinks for local tax payers who will have to fund Intel.
Intel said that it needs all these tax breaks to fund new equipment because their equipment costs are rising. However, the taxpayers point out that money really should be spent on public services and not giving Intel some state supported gear.
All up it is fairly likely that Intel will get its way and the tax payers will not even get a discount on the State backed products they made.
