N.C. town sweetens pot for an Apple move
On top of the tax breaks being offered Apple by the state, the town of Maiden is ponying up an additional $20.7 million in incentives to land a data center.
The town of Maiden, N.C., really wants Apple to build its data center there.
In addition to the state's promise of an estimated tax break of $46 million over the next 10 years, Maiden and Catawba County are promising Apple a further $20.7 million if the company brings the data center to the town, according to an Associated Press report. The additional tax breaks would also run over the 10 years of the Apple contract.
Scott Millar, president of the Catawba County Economic Development Corp., said the county expects to collect $9.3 million in taxes over the 10 years, according to the AP.
North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue signed a bill approving the tax break in early June. The state said the Apple server farm would have about 50 full-time employees, and one of the regulations that Apple would have to follow is that the average wage in the facility exceed the wage standard in the county where it's located.
The tax incentives for Apple were not without opponents. House Minority Leader Rep. Paul Stam was clearly upset with the incentives.
"They're playing us," Stam said in late May. "And they're going to keep playing us as long as you agree to be played. They'll either come or they won't come, but whether they come I can virtually assure you it will not depend upon whether you pass this bill."
Stam wasn't only referring to Apple. In 2007, Google signed a deal with North Carolina worth $600 million to open a server farm in the state for a promised $260 million worth of incentives over 30 years.