Texas city to offer Samsung large property tax breaks to build $17 bln chip plant

If picked by Samsung Electronics for a $17 billion chip facility, the city of Taylor, Texas, proposes to grant large property tax reductions. Taylor is one of two Texas cities under consideration by the South Korean tech giant for a $17 billion chip plant.

Taylor is in a bidding war with Austin, Texas, for the facility, which is estimated to create 1,800 new employment. Samsung has also stated that it is considering other locations in Arizona and New York.

Other potential locations have yet to reveal their tax advantages.

According to a proposed resolution posted on the city’s website, Samsung will be awarded a grant equivalent to 92.5 percent of assessed property tax for the first ten years, 90 percent for the next ten years, and then 85 percent for the next ten years for the land it will use.

Other measures include a 10-year tax exemption of 92.5 percent on new property erected on the site, as well as reimbursement of development review fees.

The Taylor City Council and Williamson County Commissioners will discuss the proposed resolution on Wednesday.

Austin is around 25 miles (40 kilometers) away from the Taylor location. It is substantially larger than the Austin site, at 1,187.5 acres (4.81 square kilometers). Samsung bought more than 250 acres near Austin last year, in addition to the 350 acres it already owns, which houses its lone U.S. chip manufacturing.

According to a document previously filed with Texas state officials, if Samsung chooses Taylor, it aims to break ground in the first quarter of next year, with manufacturing beginning by the end of 2024.

Source: Reuters

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