Posted on 05/05/2011 7:51:49 AM PDT by Santa Fe_Conservative
Wal-Mart returning Haley's favor? Company promises dozens of new stores, 4,000 jobs after teaming with governor to oppose Amazon tax exemption By JEFF WILKINSON - jwilkinson@thestate.com
Lexington County leaders questioned the timing of an announcement Wednesday by Wal-Mart and S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley which promised dozens of new stores and 4,000 jobs over the next five years, with one politician calling it a “shell game.”
Several said the announcement was a political favor for Haley, who opposed giving a sales tax break to Amazon.com for a planned distribution center in Cayce that would have brought 1,249 jobs to the area. Wal-Mart actively campaigned against the Amazon incentive, saying it gave a competitor an unfair advantage.
The S.C. House a week ago shot down the tax break, and Amazon pulled out of the deal.
Some Lexington County leaders were skeptical of the lack of specifics in Wal-Mart’s announcement.
Read more: http://www.thestate.com/2011/05/05/1805901/wal-marts-sc-bonanza-payback-for.html#ixzz1LUNnd0YM
(Excerpt) Read more at thestate.com ...
Unfair advantage? I don't know about South Carolina but in many locations in the northeast in which Walmart builds a store the location receives numerous property tax breaks and other "freebies" (road improvements, etc.) from the state or local government in order to encourage more development and local hiring. Perhaps Amazon needs to fire back at Walmart for having such an "unfair advantage" over other retailers.
Rats, another RINO loser. Very sad.
I don’t think this is an argument that makes anyone on either side into a RINO or hypocrite. There are valid arguments on both sides. I tend to side with Amazon, because I’m generally against what I believe amounts to a backdoor internet tax. That said, I can see how local businesses and brick and mortar retailers would be on the other side of the argument. In my opinion, both arguments have merit.
And don’t forget that the Amazon thing was voted down decisively in the state house.
Wal-Mart seems to have not only mastered the game of Crony Capitalism, they seem to absolutely relish playing it. Makes me want to shop there less and less.
If you think a single issue defines a RINO you are being unrealistic.
You will live the rest of your life NEVER liking a single candidate, or person in your family, or in your business, or in your church, or anywhere, including the mirror, because no one is 100% anything.
Especially since this is not a pure conservative - liberal issue. I disagree with the governor on it. I suspect she has misgivings too to a degree.
Why must EVERYONE be a RINO? Why can’t we be adult enough to point out flaws in folks who are overall good conservatives?
Yeah, but in the fascist police state known as the northeast, that’s the only way ANY company would ever agree to move there.
Property taxes are usually levied at levels lower than the state and deals are made and don't make the news.
For a state to suspend a transactional tax, i.e. sales tax (as Amazon wants); is rarer as it opens the door for any/all large firms to twist arms.
I'm sympathetic to Haley on this.
Amazon should consider Delaware. Great shipping location and though they would have to levy sales tax on Delaware residents, who cares? They are few in number and look who they just elected senator.
-—Why must EVERYONE be a RINO?-—
Pompous sanctimonious self rightousists settle for nothing less than their own ideal Christ like conservative perfection.
Targeted tax breaks seem to me like crony capitalism. How is SC giving Amazon a tax break (for which no one else is elligible) any different than the feds colluding to reduce GE’s tax burden? Why should a large business get tax breaks that a small business could never get. Lower taxes for all and make your state/county/city competetive. Businesses will then move there without having to be bribed.
Sales tax in Delaware is 0.
No kidding. Even Reagan had his RINO moments!
But I do agree with the idea here that exempting one company from a sales tax is not fair to everyone else and should be avoided.
I was in a local Wal-Mart yesterday. I noticed they had installed two of the rotating enclosures for guns, tho no guns in them.
I asked if they were going to start carrying them again and the lady said “yes”.
Now you are injecting common sense and logic into the WalMart/Amazon argument.
You must be a racist.
/s
I own a number of businesses on Wal Mart outparcels.
They get no such tax breaks in Nashville area. In fact they usually have to fight like hell to get one built.
I do hate the way they kill local businesses in small towns.
and how they almost single handedly have supplied the fuel for China’s Communist Capitalsim
While I agree it’s distasteful, WalMart is in business to make money. The company’s playing by the rules they’re forced to live under. This, no doubt, appears to be in their best interest. The elected officials, OTOH, should know better than to play these games. All too often, they backfire. I’d say Haley is showing some inexperience in sticking her toes where they’re certain to only trip her up in the future.
If a business has a presence in a state, then they have to collect sales tax. This has always been the case as I understand it. I can send gifts to my family tax free from Costco because there is no Costco in LA, but things I order have sales tax added. If Amazon builds a center in SC, then it has a ‘presence’ there. Were they seeking an excemption from this rule? This is what Atlas Shrugged was about, playing favorites. Change the rule for everybody or nobody.
Wal-Mart has been making a lot of noise in the press lately about how “our shoppers” (i.e. middle and lower income) are “running out of money”.
Leads me to believe they are about to become the #1 cheerleaders for an Obama “Spread the Wealth Around” program.
A lot of that going around lately on Freep. RINO is a valuable term, and we should reserve it for it’s intended purpose: folks like Graham and McCain and Colin Powell and others who BUILD THEIR CAREER BY BEING REPUBLICANS WHO ALWAYS DISAGREE WITH REPUBLICANS.
That is very different from someone who is merely flawed, but does not go out of their way to trash conservatives and the other folks in the party.
“and how they almost single handedly have supplied the fuel for China’s Communist Capitalsim”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
When the Chinese are not using their new aircraft carrier for training US Navy human targets, they will rent it out to
Walmart as a big container ship.
Its helicopters can be used to make hot-shot deliveries directly to the stores.
“Lieutenant Chang... your mission today is to get these DVD players to store 501. Good luck”
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