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Isn't that money only to be paid out if Foxconn actually hires all the people they said they would? Last I heard, Foxconn wasn't even sure that they were going

by jdhn 8y ago

Isn't that money only to be paid out if Foxconn actually hires all the people they said they would? Last I heard, Foxconn wasn't even sure that they were going to hire as many people as they originally thought they would.

whatok 8y ago
Yes, that's correct. No tax break is structured as a check that just shows up. They're usually contingent on meeting hiring thresholds or tenure. Amazon's tax breaks were going to be by head over several years.
- addicted 8y ago
  Significant parts of the Wisconsin Foxconn deal were structured that way (such as development of infrastructure, etc). The Amazon deal only benefits Amazon if they put money in, AFAICT. The government isnt on the hook to build anything for them. They get tax breaks on property and income taxes.
bilbo0s 8y ago
That's the bad news, only about 4 of it is contingent. The rest we've already started gleefully spending. And it's on stuff we won't need if there is no 15000 worker plant there. I don't even want to get into the fact that we gave Foxconn real estate assets at wayyy below market value. Which assets were essentially confiscated from families that had been on that land for generations. (And to top all that off, the losses we took on those real estate deals are actually not counted in the 4 to 5 billion!) And then there's the "nice to haves". Believe it or not there is a trolley car they're building in Milwaukee connected to all this. Those are the kinds of projects we should be waiting on until this whole thing is finished, and we're starting to collect on all that new tax revenue (profit) that everyone says we're gonna get. Then we should do that trolley car and all the other "nice to haves". Actually, we probably still shouldn't because we're not likely to be making much money on this deal at all, but if it's something people are just going to insist on then do it AFTER the money starts coming in. I shouldn't complain, I suppose it's not like Wisconsinites are the only people out there who gleefully spend money before they get it. Worse, before they get it from someone who is CLEARLY doing this deal under duress. They don't even want to do the deal. Arrgh. It's just the spending combined with the high likelihood that we're gonna be on the losing end of this deal just gets to you sometimes. It's like Wisconsinites never heard of "risk mitigation"???? Anyway, I'll stop my rant.

by jdhn 8y ago

whatok 8y ago

Yes, that's correct. No tax break is structured as a check that just shows up. They're usually contingent on meeting hiring thresholds or tenure. Amazon's tax breaks were going to be by head over several years.

addicted 8y ago
Significant parts of the Wisconsin Foxconn deal were structured that way (such as development of infrastructure, etc). The Amazon deal only benefits Amazon if they put money in, AFAICT. The government isnt on the hook to build anything for them. They get tax breaks on property and income taxes.

bilbo0s 8y ago

That's the bad news, only about 4 of it is contingent. The rest we've already started gleefully spending. And it's on stuff we won't need if there is no 15000 worker plant there. I don't even want to get into the fact that we gave Foxconn real estate assets at wayyy below market value. Which assets were essentially confiscated from families that had been on that land for generations. (And to top all that off, the losses we took on those real estate deals are actually not counted in the 4 to 5 billion!) And then there's the "nice to haves". Believe it or not there is a trolley car they're building in Milwaukee connected to all this. Those are the kinds of projects we should be waiting on until this whole thing is finished, and we're starting to collect on all that new tax revenue (profit) that everyone says we're gonna get. Then we should do that trolley car and all the other "nice to haves". Actually, we probably still shouldn't because we're not likely to be making much money on this deal at all, but if it's something people are just going to insist on then do it AFTER the money starts coming in. I shouldn't complain, I suppose it's not like Wisconsinites are the only people out there who gleefully spend money before they get it. Worse, before they get it from someone who is CLEARLY doing this deal under duress. They don't even want to do the deal. Arrgh. It's just the spending combined with the high likelihood that we're gonna be on the losing end of this deal just gets to you sometimes. It's like Wisconsinites never heard of "risk mitigation"???? Anyway, I'll stop my rant.