Tech Companies Pulled $9.3 Billion in State and Local Subsidies in Five Years

Dominic Rushe reports:

Giant technology companies in the US, which include some of the world’s most profitable firms, have been pledged at least $9.3bn in state and local subsidies over the last five years – much of it coming from the coffers of cities and states with failing infrastructure, struggling schools and broken budgets.

With deals like the one that brought Foxconn to Wisconsin, the size of the deals is only growing, according to the report. For the Amazon HQ2 deal, still awaiting an announcement from the company, "[o]ne region alone – Montgomery County, Maryland – offered tax breaks and infrastructure improvements worth more than $8.5bn," according to Rushe.

"States and cities argue the tax breaks are necessary to attract the high-paying jobs that technology companies provide," explains Rushe of the political debate surrounding this approach to economic development. "But the list of the biggest giveaways so far shows that the handouts rarely result in significant job creation – and the jobs that are created come with a high price tag."