Another above-the-fold N&R front-pager on the American Express data center, with the local paper of record noting that the project’s “looking even sweeter.”
I admittedly was noncommital yesterday, but Triadwatch has not lowered its red flags, wondering how we went “from offering the largest incentive deal in the history of Guilford County to POOF no tax incentives.”
Good question. The property still needs water and sewer, and just because AmEx has played its hand doesn’t mean they won’t still ask for help. And if they ask, local officials certainly give. Maybe that was the plan all along, since officials played their hand as AmEx was reportedly pondering its choice.
Meanwhile, the N&R praises proposed state legislation granting tax relief to small businesses, since “(e)ven in a recession, most new hiring, economists say, will be by small local businesses rather than through the hit-and-miss wooing of large corporations in a costly, unpredictable bidding war with other states.” Still they lead the cheers for AmEx and its 150 jobs.
JLF analyst Joe Coletti calls the bill a “job creation gimmick,” adding “not only is the incentive small, but the level of micromanagement from the state would make the new tax credits more trouble than they’re worth.”
