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Facebook's data center in Prineville won property tax exemptions similar to Intel's.
(Oregonian photo)
Intel's 30-year property tax exemption, potentially worth $2 billion to the company, is almost certainly the largest deal of its kind in Oregon history.
State lawmakers created the Strategic Investment Program in 1993 for Intel and similar big manufacturers with huge capital costs. By offering property tax exemptions in investments over $100 million, Oregon hoped to lure heavy-duty employers.
While a lot of manufacturing has migrated offshore in the intervening two decades, the SIP has proven an especially good fit for Intel – the world's largest chipmaker. Since winning its first SIP deals in 1994, Intel has invested billions of dollars in making Washington County the center of its global manufacturing and research.
Though SIP agreements aren't tied to specific hiring targets, Intel's Oregon work force has grown from a little more than 6,000 in 1993 to 17,500 now – more than any other business in the state.
Intel alone makes the SIP the state's largest program of business tax breaks or subsidies, but it's far from the only one. Here's a sampling of other deals:
Genentech, August 2006
The deal: Property tax exemptions worth $23 million over 15 years, plus $4.8 million in training assistance
The jobs: No hiring requirement, but Genentech has a few hundred employees in Hillsboro
The program: Strategic Investment Program
Facebook, December 2009
The deal: Property tax exemptions on land and buildings in Facebook's Prineville data center. Facebook saved $4.4 million on the deal in 2012, and $12.2 million last year.
The jobs: Facebook must employ at least 35 at 150 percent of the annual average wage in Crook County.
The program: Enterprise zone.
Apple, April 2012
The deal: Property tax exemptions on computers in Apple's Prineville data center. The deal is likely worth hundreds of millions of dollars to Apple over the life of the agreement.
The jobs: Apple must employ at least 35 and pay systems-development charges for transportation, water and wastewater.
The program: Enterprise zone
Salesforce.com, September 2012
The deal: $1.45 million subsidy for new Hillsboro office
The jobs: 205 for at least two years, paying at least $67,00 annually (150 percent of the state average)
The program: New Business Expansion Program
Oracle, February 2013
The deal: $1.4 million subsidy for Hillsboro factories.
The jobs: At least 78 manufacturing jobs, paying 150 percent of the state's average (about $60,000 a year)
The program: New Business Expansion Program
Google, September 2013
The deal: Property tax exemptions on computers in new Google data center in The Dalles. A prior deal was worth $100 million to Google on a $700 million investment.
The jobs: At least 10 new jobs paying 150 percent of Wasco County average (more than $50,000 a year)
The program: Enterprise zone
Nike and Intel, 2012 and 2013
The deal: Locks in a favorable corporate tax formula for both companies, for 30 years, exempting them from most corporate income taxes. The tax treatment, known as "single sales factor" had been phased in beginning in 1991 and lawmakers are not contemplating revising it. Nike insisted upon a guarantee, though, when it considered a large expansion in 2012 and Intel sought the same treatment.
The jobs: Each company must add 500 jobs.
The program: Special legislative action
Garmin, December 2013
The deal: $487,500 subsidy
The jobs: At least 65 at Garmin's Salem site, paying 150 percent of statewide average – more than $60,000 annually
The program: New Business Expansion Program
-- Mike Rogoway; twitter: @rogoway; 503-294-7699