Toyota Rep asks KY Senate for tax credits (while state Gov may shut down in July lack of funds)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.wave3.com/Global/story.asp?S=12556794

By Elizabeth Donatelli - bio | email

FRANKFORT, KY (WAVE) - Kentucky legislators are running out of time to come up with a balanced budget. The Governor has given them until the end of the week or there could be a partial shutdown of state government in July. The House passed a budget Wednesday, and now the Senate has to make any changes by Friday.

One change Senate lawmakers may consider concerns the Toyota plant in Georgetown.

The Senate Appropriations & Revenue Committee made changes that will lessen the revenue coming in by offering more tax credits, and Toyota will be eligible for a tax credit when the new budget is passed.

"Believe me, the entire Commonwealth benefits from their plant here," said Sen. Damon Thayer (R-Scott County).

The Georgetown, KY plant makes the hybrid Camry partly because of promised tax credits. As the economy weakened, however, Toyota representatives say the company hasn't gotten back as much as it planned.

Kim Menke, Manager of Government Relations testified before the committee asking the Senate to help the company recoup its investment.

FULL story at link.

[madrchsod]

1. bail out! bail out! bail out!

i thought toyota was so profitable that it did`t need tax payer support.

meanwhile the last major hardware manufacturer in sterling il has left for china. Stanley has closed it`s National brand manufacturing plant. it was pretty much on it`s last legs anyway so stanley pulled the plug.

if your house was built in the 50-70`s there is a good chance your door hinges were made in sterling. it`s sister across the street shut down over 15 years ago. Lawrence brothers manufacturing made other assorted hardware.

[Urban Prairie]

2. Granting additional tax credits to a foreign vehicle mfg may not matter in the near future

If China and/or India are permitted to export their vehicles into the US, perhaps sometime during this decade. Given the increasing credit problems and stagnating/falling wages that many if not most of the US middle class are struggling with, purchasing or leasing one of their much more inexpensive vehicles may become unavoidable, other than buying used.

I can envision the Japanese and Korean vehicle manufacturers, as well as the remaining domestics, rapidly losing market share to one or both, and being forced to shutter more and more of their plants in the US, just due to being unable to compete cost and price-wise.

It would not surprise me to see Wal*Mart auto dealerships being built close to their retail stores sooner or later. In our increasingly disposable society, replace instead of repair would also become applicable to the vehicles that we drive.

[Omaha Steve]

3. NYT: Despite Recalls, Toyota Reports $1.2 Billion Profit

They NEED a tax cut?

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/12/business/global/12toyota.html?src=busln

By HIROKO TABUCHI
Published: May 11, 2010

TOKYO — Despite being mired in recalls and inquiries into its safety record, Toyota roared back to a profit in the fiscal year that just ended and forecast on Tuesday a further increase in earnings.

Toyota had a particularly strong performance in the three months through March — the period when the Japanese automaker recalled millions of cars and was under the intense scrutiny of consumers and governments around the world.

Profit for the three months was 112 billion yen ($1.2 billion), in contrast to a 766 billion yen loss the year before, as the automaker slashed costs and introduced aggressive sales incentives that lured customers back to its showrooms.

Quarterly revenue jumped to 5.28 trillion yen, from 3.54 trillion yen the previous year, when car sales slumped in the middle of the global financial crisis. Revenues showed an especially strong rebound in the Chinese market and in the United States, while sales in Europe and Japan continued to slump.

In March, global sales rose 26 percent from the previous year, partly because of generous incentives offered in the United States, while global production surged 80 percent.

“After taking over amid a storm, I wanted to do anything to avoid a third straight year in the red,” Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota, said after the earnings announcement.

“These results follow tough and anguishing decisions” on the part of Toyota’s management, he said, referring to the automaker’s dismissal of workers both in Japan and overseas amid companywide cost cuts.

FULL story at link.