Posted on 07/15/2010 6:09:24 AM PDT by Abathar
The Missouri Manufacturing Jobs Act, which includes an incentive package of as much as $100 million for Ford Motor Co., is headed to Gov. Jay Nixon.
An initial bill had passed the House in late June, but stalled in the Senate, which passed its version of the bill 20-7 about 9:15 a.m. Wednesday after a filibuster attempt. The House then approved the Senate bill by a 101-40 vote, sending it to Nixon, who released a statement Wednesday afternoon supporting the initiative’s passage.
“With the sharper, stronger economic tools provided by this jobs bill, Missouri can make sure that our automotive industry remains vibrant for generations to come,” Nixon said in the statement.
The act would let qualified suppliers or manufacturing facilities that invest in their Missouri production facilities hang on to employee income tax withholdings, as much as $15 million a year for 10 years, capped at $10 million a year for a single company. The incentives are awarded after improvements are made and jobs are preserved.
The approved bill mirrored the one Rep. Jerry Nolte, R-Gladstone, introduced at the beginning of the special session, before potentially problematic amendments were added in the House, such as incentives for underground data centers. However, the bill was linked with a bill to reform state pensions, so both bills now are advancing to Nixon.
Nolte expressed satisfaction at the result, saying the bill was about good-paying jobs for Missouri families.
“There’s been an awful lot said about this that has just clouded the issue — things that were not accurate,” he said Wednesday. “The idea that this is some kind of a bailout is just off. It’s a performance-based incentive, with penalties. ... It’s far from a sweetheart deal with Ford.”
(Excerpt) Read more at bizjournals.com ...
Note that GM and Toyota also have facilities in Missouri, and it appears that these incentives can go to any manufacturer.
I like the level-field approach. No special tax break for one company while denying them to a competitor (you listening, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky?)... just set the rules the same for all....
I should add Georgia to that list, too... no breaks for Ford’s old plant there at the time they were giving hundreds of millions to Kia.
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