State
discloses part of Mercedes incentives deal, by Scott
Turbey, 1/13/16 AJC
Mercedes
makes C-class sedans at its plant near Tuscaloosa, Ala. Proximity to that plant
and other Mercedes facilities helped steer the U.S. headquarters to metro
Atlanta.
Georgia
officials unveiled at least part of the incentives package the state used to
lure Mercedes-Benz to relocate its U.S. headquarters from New Jersey.
On
Monday, state officials disclosed that Mercedes-Benz USA will receive
assistance from a grant totaling $6 million through one of Georgia’s so-called
“deal closing” funds. The Regional Economic Business Assistance Program (REBA)
grant will be administered by the Development Authority of Fulton County.
The
grant, which is funded by taxpayer dollars, is likely only a portion of the
total incentive package. The total package — likely to be valued in the tens of
millions of dollars — could include tax credits for jobs created and property
tax abatements for the German luxury automaker’s new headquarters facility.
The
Atlanta Journal-Constitution has filed an Georgia Open Records Act request to
obtain information about the full incentives package, and that request is
pending.
The Wall
Street Journal reported online Monday that the state package totaled “about $23
million,” including tax credits.
Last
week, Mercedes confirmed that it will move its U.S. division from Montvale,
N.J., to metro Atlanta. The move will involve 800 to 1,000 jobs.
Mercedes
also has applied for a bond package with the Fulton development authority that
would open the door for local property tax breaks on the auto company’s planned
$93 million campus. Mercedes plans to move to temporary quarters later this
year and open the new corporate campus in 2017.
A
property tax break could come as part of a complicated bond and lease
transaction that would abate a portion of an property tax liability over 10
years. The county offers a 50 percent reduction in the first year, a reduction
that would decrease by 5 percent each year for 10 years. Taxpayers would not be
on the hook for such bonds, authority officials said last week.
http://www.ajc.com/news/business/georgia-discloses-part-of-mercedes-incentive-packa/njmgR/
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