Posted on 03/05/2019 8:51:23 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Hahahah!
Open mike moment:
THIS JUST IN:
axios.com
Inside Amazon’s HQ2 deal with a Virginia county
County officials yesterday laid out the details of the deal giving Amazon incentives to bring its headquarters expansion to the D.C. suburb of Arlington, Virginia.
Why it matters: A vote by the Arlington County Board on the draft deal approaches amid mounting scrutiny of financial incentives promised for corporate expansions, Axios’ David McCabe reports. A political backlash to Amazon’s planned office in New York — announced as a pair with Virginia’s — already caused the company to back out.
The bottom line: The deal includes the expected estimated $23 million in financial incentives — and seems unlikely to quell activist fears that the county is making huge concessions to Amazon, while getting little in return.
The draft deal, first reported by the Washington Post, includes:
A system by which Amazon will receive a portion of the revenue from any increase in a tax on travelers in hotels or other lodging for 15 years.
The requirement that to receive the benefit, Amazon has to occupy a certain square footage of office space, with the target increasing each year until 2035.
A confidentiality clause that gives Amazon advance notice of public records requests.
The agreement gives no indication that the county will insist Amazon meet demands from critics, like dictating conditions for construction workers on the project or abandoning the work it does for U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.
“I would have liked the board to have gotten some commitments from Amazon, and it’s shocking that they get nothing from Amazon,” said Roshan Abraham, a member of the steering committee of the progressive group Our Revolution Arlington. “This is very much a one-way deal where all Amazon has to do is show up,” Abraham added.
Amazon declined to comment.
The chairman of the Arlington County Board told the Post that the body could still push the company to make concessions — but not in the incentives agreement. (There are also limitations on what the county government can mandate here, he said.)
What’s next: The board is expected to vote on the proposal on March 16.
Read the draft agreement (linked at web site)
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