Posted on 09/08/2009 2:55:45 PM PDT by Libloather
Deal has U.S. taxpayers subsidizing British distillery on St. Croix
by Tom Hamburger and Peter Wallsten/Los Angeles Times
Tuesday September 08, 2009, 6:00 AM
With little fanfare, a deal is moving forward to direct billions in U.S. tax dollars to an unlikely beneficiary -- the giant British liquor producer that makes Captain Morgan rum.
Under the agreement, Diageo of London will receive tax credits and other benefits worth $2.7 billion over 30 years, including the entire $165 million cost of building a state-of-the-art distillery on the island of St. Croix in the Virgin Islands, a U.S. territory.
Virgin Islands officials say the arrangement complies with the letter and spirit of tax law and will help the islands' sagging economy.
**SNIP**
House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) has refused to intervene in the dispute, citing his long-standing support for the rum tax program, which gives territories the right to determine how the funds will be used.
Republican Congressman Dan Burton of Indiana, who is on a fact-finding trip to the region this week, says he is supporting Pierluisi's bill "because there needs to be a vehicle for intervention when unreasonable subsidies are given to foreign companies at taxpayer expense."
(Excerpt) Read more at nj.com ...
How many real Americans could be covered by health insurance with that loot?
Damn. An all-expenses-paid “fact-finding trip” to St. Croix, right at the end of the high season, to investigate rum manufacturing, no less. How do I get in on that?
Sailor Jerry could kick Capt. Morgan’s butt!
Why??
What is the reason that this is important for the government to fund?
Do they own stock in that company?
Finally!!! a tax subsidy I can support. /not
So, a moon shot is too expensive, but subsidising booze to the tune of a couple of billion bucks is a-ok.
It’s more ridiculous than that. They are moving it from the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to the American territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Virgin Islands and the British corporation had better lobbyists.
Captain Morgan rum and fresh squeezed pink grapefruit on ice after a hard day offshore fishing or diving for lobster is just the ticket.
reminds a lot of NCR moving from Dayton Oh to Atlanta GA - $100,000,000.00 some of it stimulous money is involved in the ‘deal’ (dirty).
So basically the folks in Dayton are watching their tax dollars being used to move their jobs to Atlanta.
SOmeone is making a lot of money and it isn’t the employees.
the news releases don’t even begin to tell the truth. Of course the new World Headquarters is going to be very ‘green’, probably a lot of stimulous money going in that little fiasco.
As our Senator Turner said ‘stimulous money was not intended to be used to move jobs from one state to another’ but I bet Obama’s boys count those jobs as ‘newly created’ - what a crock.
ping
Interesting. My father owns a block manufacturing plant in St. Croix, Superior Block Inc. the only block plant on the island. He stands to benefit indirectly from this. Sorry I’m the only one remotely giddy.
Ask the Congressmen who went to the Galapagos (with their families) to investigate the effects of Global Warming. Others went to Australia for the same reason.
Not much to do on the Galapagos. Certainly not like St. Croix and doubly certain that it’s not like investigating rum manufacturing on St. Croix. But I get your point.
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