These cities and states are throwing hundreds of millions at Amazon for its new headquarters

By: Business Insider

October 21, 2017 at 08:54 AM EDT

Mike Segar/Reuters

In 2018, Amazon will name one North American city as the future home of the company's second headquarters, dubbed HQ2. The company says HQ2 will bring 50,000 jobs, and recently launched an open call for city proposals that explain why the e-commerce giant should invest $5 billion in building a campus there.

The deadline for proposals was this week, and at least 50 metro areas were expected to submit.

In addition to offering huge swaths of land, financial incentives have become key parts of bids from many cities, states, and developers. A few incentive packages offer tax breaks that total in the billions.

Amazon likely won't pick a city unless it is offering some kind of economic deal, since that was one requirement the company laid out in its request. When Amazon has opened facilities or office spaces in other cities across the US, it has often accepted local subsidies.

From 2005 to 2014, the company received at least $613 million in local government subsidies to build warehouses, according to a 2016 report by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. The group, which pushes for local resources to be dedicated to community development, also found that Amazon received an additional $147 million in subsidies for its data centers.

It's not unusual for large companies to receive government subsidies in return for pledging to increase jobs and economic prosperity in the region (though that doesn't always happen).

Here are eight places that are offering Amazon incentive packages, in ascending order of monetary value.

Memphis, Tennessee — $60 millionShutterstock

Memphis will offer $60 million in economic incentives to Amazon, according to The Commercial Appeal.

The Memphis City Council voted on October 3 to offer the tax breaks for the company's headquarters, which may be supplemented by additional incentives from the development agency Economic Development Growth Engine, Shelby County, and the state of Tennessee.

California — $300 million to $1 billionUladzik Kryhin/Shutterstock

California's governor's office will offer $300 million to Amazon in tax breaks if it picks a city in the state, Reuters reports.

But a bill introduced on Thursday in California's state assembly could give the company even more — up to $1 billion in tax breaks over 10 years.

Chula Vista, California — $400 millionNV5 Global/City of Chula Vista

Chula Vista, a city 10 miles outside of downtown San Diego, California, is offering Amazon a $400-million tax incentive package, a spokesperson from the city told Business Insider.

Its 25-page bid, called "Welcome Home Amazon," also promises to give Amazon 8 million square feet of space and proposes the construction of "the world's first binational university" (with campuses in California and Mexico).

Worcester, Massachusetts — $500 millionSean Pavone/Shutterstock

Worcester, a city an hour west of Boston, Massachusetts, said it's willing to grant $500 million in real-estate tax exemptions and a 100% personal property tax exemption for 20 years to Amazon employees, according to WBUR.

The city's 60-page HQ2 proposal also mentions the possibility of additional tax credits for investment and research and development.

Maryland — tax incentives "in the billions of dollars"Jon Bilous/Shutterstock

Maryland governor Larry Hogan would not disclose specifics about the tax incentives in the state's HQ2 bid.

But the Baltimore Sun reported that Maryland's incentive package totals somewhere "in the billions of dollars."

Baltimore City as well as Charles, Howard, Prince George's, and Montgomery counties are also submitting separate proposals that could include additional tax breaks for the company.

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