Posted on 08/24/2017 2:19:27 PM PDT by TigerClaws
Apple Inc will build a $1.375 billion data center in Waukee, Iowa, Apple and state officials said on Thursday, with $207.8 million in incentives approved by the Iowa Economic Development Authority and Waukee city council.
Apple will purchase 2,000 acres (8.09 square km) of land in Waukee, about 20 miles (32 km) west of Des Moines, to build two data centers. The company will receive a $19.65 million investment tax credit for creating 50 jobs.
Apple said the project will generate more than 550 jobs in construction and operations, but did not specify how many of those jobs would be long-term positions.
Speaking alongside Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said the facility "will create hundreds of jobs for people in Iowa from construction to engineering."
Cook said Apple will contribute up to $100 million toward a "public improvement fund" for the city of Waukee, adding the first project supported by the fund will be a youth sports complex that "will be open to all." The bulk of the subsidy is a planned $188.2 million property tax abatement of 71 percent over 20 years provided by the city of Waukee, according to economic development officials.
State subsidies to technology employers have become a key issue in Midwestern states such as Wisconsin, where Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, is seeking $3 billion in subsidies for a $10 billion LCD panel plant. The incentive package passed Wisconsin's Republican-controlled state Assembly last week by a 59-30 margin. [nL2N1L3137] [nL2N1L9121]
Foxconn is a major Apple supplier, but is not expected to make any Apple products at its proposed U.S. plant.
The Iowa data center will join Apple facilities in California, Nevada, Oregon and North Carolina, which also host services such as iCloud, Apple Music and the App Store.
"This new data center will play a very important role in the App Store's continued success," Cook said. "As the App Store grows, we look forward to growing in Iowa."
Facebook Inc, Alphabet Inc's Google and Microsoft Corp also maintain data centers in Iowa.
Apple will spend $110 million to acquire and prepare the land for its data centers in Iowa, according to economic development officials. The bulk of the costs, $620 million, will go toward construction. Apple will spend $600 million on computer equipment, with $45 million going toward other equipment.
Notice how they managed to stay out of Illinois?
Western Iowa seems more conservative than eastrrn Iowa.
There goes the ‘hood...
Hey, weren’t you all about that fake Pizzagate crap?
Whatever happened with that?
Were you wrong about that?
Giving a temporary property tax abatement to builders of new commercial buildings is a longstanding method of encouraging commercial development. It is, I think, appropriate, as opposed to direct subsidies.
$207.8 million of your taxes. Plus, who knows how many in future years with free utilities and breaks on their property and profit tax.
Facebook and Microsoft already have data centers around Des Moines. Lesser known LightEdge also has a Des Moines-area data center. Google has a big complex in far western Iowa.
I wonder if that site will be like NSA Utah data collection site?
They are incentives, to spur development and jobs. Just came back from Des Moines after visiting my daughter's family. Lots of good changes happening there. My daughter bought a home near downtown, received a ten-year reprieve from property taxes as an incentive to remodel the home, has half of it completely remodeled so far and has seen the value quadruple. Her entire neighborhood has construction going on and is booming. I checked out some properties for sale. Great place to live, great people there and has lots to offer. Apple is doing a smart thing building there.
Small businesses create jobs and get bupkis. (If they don't get taxed even more that is).
We should lower tax rates across the board, if they are too high for Apple they are too high for Joe's Garage.
I call this cronyism, and I say it sucks.
Tax bribes have not worked in NYS.
It’s cronyism. It does indeed suck. And it’s bloody stupid economic policy.
Gov. Reynolds: Worsening Iowa budget will force reliance on cash reserves
What makes you believe it was fake?
So government does create jobs. Fifty of them.
Government also creates sports stadiums.
If it is like building the Foxconn plant here in Wisconsin with 13000 jobs ... for each $1 the state invests (incentive), the return is $34 ... I’ll take that if some one offers it ...
There goes the harvest ;-) Maybe Iowa can convince Apple to name the data centers "Corn" and "Maize"!
Don't I know it. I am a very small employer in Oregon. One W-2 employee, and one 1099 employee. But, I feel like I am doing my part to reduce unemployment both in Oregon and in the US, especially since I am a retired old guy, who could be just collecting Social Security and playing golf.
In the past 3 years, the feds have fined me nearly $2000, not for any failures to pay, but for not using their electronic filing system and sending in paper reports the old fashioned way.
The state is now threatening to get into the act and fine me for reports that my accountant did send in electronically.
They are actively discouraging small businesses. At least they are consistent though -- they are driving away large business too.
We asked questions about Hillary, her campaign manager, and we won a Presidential election.
Spirit Cooking, Pizzagate. All legitimate questions - many that have still not been answered - and Trump is President.
If you are calling it “fake” then you haven’t done any level of research. Go look at the Comet Pizza Instagram posts and posts by the owner and his friends. If you think that’s not worthy of investigation - which is all we asked - you’re crazy.
No. I wasn’t wrong about winning an election and asking the proper authorities investigate possible criminal activity.
Maybe he things auctioning off kids and calling them pedo names is just a big joke, right? Why else would he be calling it “fake”?
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