County likely to waive tax against Intel (Hillsboro, OR) | Oregonian

[Ediacara]

County likely to waive tax against Intel

08/13/03

RYAN FRANK

HILLSBORO -- Washington County leaders, concerned about the struggling economy's effects on the Silicon Forest, said Tuesday they expect to permanently waive an unusual tax levied against Intel, its largest employer.

The county agreed in 1999 to give Intel $200 million in tax breaks on a mammoth manufacturing complex in Hillsboro called Ronler Acres.

The 15-year agreement included an "impact fee" that required the computer chip-maker to pay $1,000 annually for each manufacturing employee in excess of 5,000. The fee was meant to offset extra workers' stress on schools and roads.

Intel has more than 4,900 manufacturing workers at its Washington County campuses and plans to cross the 5,000-employee mark this year. The company also has exceeded its projected spending with a $2 billion factory at Ronler Acres.

More at the Oregonian

[stevedeshazer]

1. Washington County

These guys are dumber than a sack of hammers. WashCo over the years has attracted many of Oregon's largest employers, yet failed to adequately plan for the growth that came with it. I worked there for six years, it is a miserable place and is Oregon's worst example of urban sprawl. Intel, Nike, and the rest want tax breaks without helping the county pay for the infrastructure necessary to accommodate the lives of their workers. It is a maze of strip malls, crackerbox apartment complexes, and paved-over farmland.

[revcarol]

2. They ought to collect the tax.

Intel will move the jobs overseas anyway.