Tax breaks to private companies seem unconstitutional, they are inherently unfair to other private companies, especially any competition. Why do the courts allow it? Should be challenged. Government can bribe I guess and it’s legal.
I don't know. I think it has something to do with the county only getting $78 a year for the property now, versus $7.2 million a year from Apple. Maybe the county could use the money instead of staring at an empty lot.
You can call it a "bribe" but it's actually an incentive. My daughter and her husband bought a home in a redevelopment district in a major city. The neighborhood was a wreck, and the city wasn't getting much of anything from property taxes due to abandoned homes. They offered an incentive to prospective buyers of a 10-year tax break. No property taxes for ten years.
Daughter and her husband bought a derelict building for $80,000 and set to work fixing it up. So did many other buyers. A few years later and the neighborhood has gone upscale, with homes going for five times what they cost. Daughter's home is a desired mansion now. The city is going to see a positive cash flow in taxes where there was none prior to the incentives. Incentives work.