Back in 2014, J.P. Morgan asked for a billion dollars in tax "incentives" to stay in New York City. Journalists guessed they might move to Delaware or New Jersey. No such move happened, while 2,000 employees did move all the way to Jersey City but, the bank never really left. Yesterday the bank announced a new office tower would go up in Midtown East so the whole company could be under one roof. You might be asking yourself why does this matter. It matters cause companies located themselves where they wanted before these "incentives" were offered and still do regardless of them. J.P. Morgan like Amazon is the last entity that needs government assistance.
Tax deals or "incentives" are often cut between municipalities and corporations in exchange for jobs, this might sound good in a press release but like most things shouldn't be taken at face value. The jobs mean an increase in population leading to more kids in schools, wear and tear on infrastructure and additional cops and firefighters. These spending increases cost money, which needs to come from somewhere. We are a smaller company this issue takes a toll not only on us but also on our tenants.
Amazon currently has 20 cities locked in a lord of the flies esque struggle for "HQ2". While this is certainly a shrewd business move, it's bad for whoever wins the HQ2 contest. Amazon knew where it wanted to go be before this charade started and is using the "search" to strike a better deal.
The lesson being politicians need to stop offering these "incentives" and start working on making the city better. Getting companies to take free money is effortless, building a better place to live is difficult. I can see why it tempts politicians. This issue is bipartisan, as long as I've read newspapers Democrats and Republicans have both done it. Businesses create jobs elected officials don't. "Stay in your lane" has never been more applicable.