FOXCONN DEAL WITH WISCONSIN CUT TAX BREAKS TO $80M

Foxconn Technology Group will be eligible for just $80 million in taxpayer subsidies under a new contract signed Tuesday, down from nearly $3 billion it could have received under the original deal that envisioned a much larger project in southeastern Wisconsin.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who ran in 2018 as a critic of the deal that his Republican predecessor struck with the world’s largest electronics manufacturer, announced details of the new contract after it was approved by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. during a closed session, Scott Bauer reported for the Associated Press (AP.)

“The last deal didn’t work for Wisconsin, and that doesn’t work for me,” Evers said. “Today I’m delivering on that promise with an agreement that treats Foxconn like any other business and will save taxpayers $2.77 billion, protect the hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure investments the state and local communities have already made, and ensure there’s accountability for creating the jobs promised.”

Under the original deal, signed in 2017, Taiwan-based Foxconn would have qualified for $2.85 billion in state tax credits if it invested $10 billion and created 13,000 jobs.

Under the new deal, Foxconn will qualify for $80 million if it employs 1,454 people with an average wage of $53,875 and invests $676 million by 2026.

Under the original deal, when taking into account local government incentives, the taxpayer subsidies for Foxconn totaled more than $4 billion. The new contract is good for six years rather than 15. It also allows the state to recover 100% of incentives paid each year in the event of a default.

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