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Prominent New Yorkers Are Trying To Get Amazon To Bring Back HQ2 (cnet.com)
The New York Times reported Thursday that an open letter will be published in the Times on Friday that asks Amazon to reconsider its decision to walk away from its plan to build a 25,000-employee campus in Long Island City, Queens. The company pulled the plug on the project, dubbed HQ2, following vocal and persistent opposition to the plan after it was announced three months ago. CNET reports: The letter was signed by the CEOs of Mastercard, Warby Parker, Goldman Sachs, Tishman Speyer and Jetblue, among others. The presidents of the Building & Construction Trades Council of Greater New York and state AFL-CIO, which were expecting thousands of construction jobs to come from the project, also signed, as did U.S. Reps. Hakeem Jeffries and Carolyn Maloney. "We know the public debate that followed the announcement of the Long Island City project was rough and not very welcoming," the letter stated. "Opinions are strong in New York -- sometimes strident. We consider it part of the New York charm! But when we commit to a project as important as this, we figure out how to get it done in a way that works for everyone."
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has also had several conversations with Amazon, including CEO Jeff Bezos, about bringing back the project, the Times said. The letter and Cuomo's behind-the-scenes efforts are part of the latest fallout since Amazon abandoned HQ2 in New York. The opposition has celebrated the exit as a victory for grassroots campaigns and a stand against lavish government incentives for new development plans. Amazon was slated to get about $3 billion in tax breaks for building the project. Supporters, who weren't as vocal during the run-up to Amazon leaving, expressed shock and consternation about Amazon's decision and worried that New York would appear unfriendly to new businesses. While the business community was broadly seen as in favor of the project, the letter shows how both the camps supporting and opposing HQ2 included unions and Democratic U.S. congress members.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has also had several conversations with Amazon, including CEO Jeff Bezos, about bringing back the project, the Times said. The letter and Cuomo's behind-the-scenes efforts are part of the latest fallout since Amazon abandoned HQ2 in New York. The opposition has celebrated the exit as a victory for grassroots campaigns and a stand against lavish government incentives for new development plans. Amazon was slated to get about $3 billion in tax breaks for building the project. Supporters, who weren't as vocal during the run-up to Amazon leaving, expressed shock and consternation about Amazon's decision and worried that New York would appear unfriendly to new businesses. While the business community was broadly seen as in favor of the project, the letter shows how both the camps supporting and opposing HQ2 included unions and Democratic U.S. congress members.
Do you know why they paid $0 in Federal income taxes? It's because they spent a lot on R&D and took full depreciation in one year, and the company gave over $1 billion in stock to employees. I guess it's better to not give billions to the employees, and instead give it to Congress in DC to spend how they want. Don't reward those who built the company, give it to the Government instead.
Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
Amazon paid $0 in FEDERAL taxes. They pay hundreds of millions to Washington State in state taxes every year. The NY state and local tax revenue to be paid by Amazon was estimated to be in the BILLIONS, that's why most Democrats in the state made the deal to bring them there in the first place.
"NYC should be spending the money to improve their infrastructure ..."
WHAT money? NYC doesn't have $3billion sitting in an account that they can spend on something else now. Do you get that? It was a tax break -- not money they were going to hand over to Amazon.
What does that have to do with people talking about spending money that doesn't exist? I'm complaining about people talking about how "that money could be spent on better things" when the money in question is non-existent. I'm not going to pretend to be a hot-shot economist, but anyone who has an understanding of how invoices and payments work can see that a discount on an invoice isn't spendable money whether you send the discounted invoice or don't send an invoice at all. Opportunity cost has nothing to do with that particular complaint.
I'm not for giveaways to corporations but many landlords give "breaks" to entice new customers.
Let's look at what NYC was giving away - 3 billion dollars
What were they gaining- 20,000 jobs averaging 125,000 / year.
The total amount of new income in the city would be 20,000 x 125,000 = 2.5 billion (per year)
NYC would charge 3% income tax on this income which is 75,000,000 per year.
So. Just talking about income tax it would take the city 33 years to break even.
That's not good.
But the state also collects over 6 percent. So that brings it down to 11 years. (It's not truly even as that tax money goes to the state but the state funds a lot of NYC projects so it does count some.)
And finally - those people making 120K plus will be paying sales tax (8.875%) on all purchases except for food and rent. If they buy a condo they pay tax and transfer fees. And their increased spending will mean other jobs, and other income taxes that the city could collect.
So yeah. There's a good case to be made for spending 3 billion in order to get the Amazon jobs.
If you're scared of your govt then you need to further restrict its powers
Vote 3rd Party in 2016 and beyond