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These deals are net positive for Nevada (tax breaks don't really hurt them that much if they wouldn't have gotten the facility anyway), and net negative for the
by lbradstreet 12y ago
These deals are net positive for Nevada (tax breaks don't really hurt them that much if they wouldn't have gotten the facility anyway), and net negative for the US overall (revenue wise, at least). If nobody engaged in these kinds of deals then Tesla would surely pay more tax.
I don't blame Nevada for engaging in it, and I think they probably won overall.
Other factors (cheap land, regulatory, etc) almost definitely came into play but nobody is really complaining about those.
- smsm42 12y agoIt's hard to say if Tesla paid more tax, as Tesla might not build the factory at all, or could build it in other country. The thing is there's nothing sacred in current level of taxation, so I personally consider tax breaks the least evil form of subsidizing, especially if the tax is not a purpose tax for shared resource (e.g., if there's a property tax to finance common school and somebody uses the school but doesn't pay the tax, all others pay more) but a tax break on indefinite further earnings which may not have happened without the tax break. Yes, it looks like crony capitalism and sometimes it is, but if the opportunity cost is low (i.e., nothing really was being built there otherwise) then I don't see why Nevada shouldn't do it.