Counties, Not Including Escambia, OK Incentives To Lure Amazon

June 20, 2013

The Hillsborough County Commission has started to fill its shopping cart with a fiscal package to try to attract Internet giant Amazon, an action under consideration in several communities across central and northeast Florida. Escambia County has not considered any incentives to possibly tease Amazon.

“This is fiscal responsibility,” Hillsborough County Commissioner Sandra Murman said Wednesday of the overall $6.6 million local incentives package. “There are hard-working taxpayers in south (Hillsborough) county who want their tax dollars spent to create jobs, and that is the value we’re going to get for this.”

Meanwhile, the Tallahassee-based fiscal group Florida TaxWatch supported the collection of online sales taxes that would come once the Seattle-based retailer begins operating a brick-and-mortar location inside Florida.

TaxWatch President Dominic Calabro said the collection of sales taxes from out-of-state, online retailers could allow Florida to decrease property or corporate taxes, which he said have discouraged investment in the state.

“Not collecting the remote sales and use tax hurts Florida, Floridians and our employees,” Calabro said. “It costs us thousands of jobs.”

Calabro said that as more states push to collect online taxes, Congress will be encouraged to approve the federal Marketplace Fairness Act, which he estimates could increase Florida’s revenue by up to $1 billion a year.

The Marketplace Fairness Act is proposed to end a loophole that has allowed online retailers to avoid collecting sales taxes on purchases made in Florida and many other states where the online businesses don’t have physical presences, such as warehouses.

The act has received mixed reaction in the U.S. House, with U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., joining Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform at a Washington, D.C., press conference on Tuesday to oppose the measure.

The Florida Retail Federation, which supports the act, took exception to DeSantis for siding with “remote sellers outside Florida.”

Conservatives have questioned the act, which is often described as a tax increase on consumers and small businesses. Gov. Rick Scott has voiced his support for closing the online sales-tax loophole, so long as the increased revenue would be offset by cuts in other taxes or fees.

Amazon currently does not collect sales taxes from Florida customers but would have to start if it builds warehouse facilities in the state.

When a spokeswoman for the governor’s office said in May that a potential deal with Amazon had been scuttled, the reason given was that the two sides were unable to reach an agreement on when the company would have to start collecting sales taxes. Amazon wanted to delay collection.

But last week, the governor’s office outlined plans by the online retailer to create more than 3,000 jobs and spend more than $300 million in investments in Florida, with Amazon saying it would abide by state tax-collection laws.

Since the release, the state and Amazon have remained quiet about additional details of setting up shop in Florida, offering no comment Wednesday on the action of the Hillsborough County Commission. Meanwhile discussions about attracting Amazon have also occurred in Winter Haven, Ocala, Lakeland and Jacksonville.

Besides creating jobs for the southeast side of the county, Hillsborough commissioners envision dramatic changes for their region, with a “dynamic” company moving forward with a same-day delivery system that will attract other companies to their community.

And they spoke glowingly of the potential tax dollars.

Hillsborough County Commissioner Victor Crist said the collection of sales taxes will be a good thing for both Florida and the local governments seeking to build infrastructure.

“To the county which they reside in, that is worth hundreds of millions of dollars,” Crist said.

Murman expects Amazon to become a magnet for other companies.

“This is our hurricane, the feeder bands that come off this will be unbelievable,” Murman said.

Hillsborough commissioners agreed to offer up to $225,000, equal to a 20 percent match of money that the state could put through its Qualified Target Industries Tax Refund Program. To get the full state and local credit, Amazon would have to create 375 new, higher-wage jobs at a facility expected to be located in what is now a dirt-patch along Interstate 75 in Ruskin, on the east side of Tampa Bay.

The commissioners also agreed to hold a public hearing July 17 on providing $6.4 million in property-tax exemptions that would be spread over seven years.

The property tax exemptions would require the company to make a $200 million capital investment and create at least 75 well-paying jobs.

By The News Service of Florida

Comments

8 Responses to “Counties, Not Including Escambia, OK Incentives To Lure Amazon”

  1. David Huie Green on June 21st, 2013 6:17 pm

    REGARDING:
    “If this goes through, Florida residents will have to start paying sales tax on Amazon purchases even if the Internet Sales Tax Bill fails, (which it looks like it will).”

    Of course we will. Sales taxes are charged on sales within a state.
    Federal government sets taxes, if any, between states.

    I don’t buy from Amazon, but don’t try to cheat my government (they have big guns and hard prisons).

    David for Amazons
    and Xena

  2. Sales tax for FL residents on June 20th, 2013 7:09 pm

    If this goes through, Florida residents will have to start paying sales tax on Amazon purchases even if the Internet Sales Tax Bill fails, (which it looks like it will).

    This will likely result in me and others doing our internet shopping elsewhere.

  3. fred on June 20th, 2013 2:07 pm

    sounds like no one got a free hunting trip yet.

  4. Robert S. on June 20th, 2013 10:52 am

    Let’s not be too harsh on our county and city with their abilities to lure in the big paying jobs.
    Just look at the “Technology Park” between the Civic (aka Bay) Center and that fancy Aragon housing project.
    Wait, oh yeah, there’s not ever been anyone using the Technology Park, my bad.
    Okay, go ahead and ask why Escambia Co & Pensacola never want businesses and jobs. Meantime, I’m going down to the shined up Airstream trailers on Main and Palafox for a cheese sandwich and some tacos if I can find a place to park.

  5. Devastating Dave on June 20th, 2013 10:38 am

    How dare you people criticize our hometown aristocracy! Why should politicians care about you?

  6. Jane on June 20th, 2013 10:10 am

    The EC Commissioners never consider anything that brings in business. It is really too bad….things here have not changed in 30 years, except some areas are more run down. It is too bad they don’t want to update the county.

  7. jecarnl on June 20th, 2013 8:56 am

    What a shame…….Escambia County can’t see the forest for the trees.

  8. David on June 20th, 2013 2:40 am

    Historically , Pensacola has a track record decades long abstaing from luring anything as industry or any big business to Pensacola.

    However they want tourist .
    So they lure hotdog stands and taco’s to bring in the big paying jobs.

    For the past 68 years it has gone from bad to worse in Pensacola.
    Yet, they fly all over the world as good fellows trying to lure so called business using tax $.
    Just another vacation for the boys.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News