Ohio approves Intel tax credit plan worth hundreds of millions of dollars

The Ohio Tax Credit Authority has approved a $475 million job creation tax credit for Intel as the company continues to build its $20 billion semiconductor fabrication plant in Licking County.

The authority approved a 3.101%, 30-year tax credit, but the panel intended to approve the credit at 3.999%. The Ohio Department of Development said the tax credit authority has plans to meet next month to approve the higher credit, which would result in a total value of $650 million.

The state’s tax incentives are for Intel’s plan to create 3,000 full-time jobs, resulting in a projected $405 million in new annual payroll.

Zach Schiller, research director for Policy Matters Ohio, criticized the plan for not having enough accountability measures attached to the credit.

Schiller said Ohio could have done more to ensure Intel hires workers already based locally in the state, to allow the possibility to fully rescind the credit if Intel does not deliver on its plan for job creation, and to mitigate the impacts the Intel plant will have on the surrounding communities.

“These are very simple, reasonable requests, and we haven't gone far enough — the state has not gone far enough — to meet them,” said Schiller.

Schiller said the state has limited resources and a lot of "unmet needs," which could be addressed with the arrival of Intel’s large operation.

“When we spend giant amounts of money, we need to make sure that it's being spent in a way that's most responsible when we're getting the biggest bang for our buck,” Schiller said.

The tax credit authority said the actual value of the credit is based on the jobs that are ultimately created and the new payroll that’s generated. Which will be subject to verification by the state.

State and local leaders have celebrated the arrival of Intel and the opportunity it creates in the job market, not only for computer chip manufacturing but in downstream industries as well.

The Intel project will make an initial investment of $20 billion. But the company has said it could continue to expand in Ohio with a total investment surpassing $100 billion.

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