
According to the Austin American-Statesman, Williamson County, which includes the city of Austin is voting on the incentive package that helped lure Apple to the area. The proposed deal includes a 65% rebate of property taxes for 15 years. Apple would be required to invest $400 million in the site over the same period and hire 4,000 workers by the deal’s 12th anniversary. Apple has already said it would be investing $1 billion in the campus and adding 5,000 workers. Site preparation for the 133-acre project is scheduled to start next year.
Williamson County spokeswoman Connie Odom said county officials have known for the past nine to 10 months that a big corporation was considering a major investment in the county, but they “only very recently” found out that it was Apple. Odom declined to comment ahead of the Tuesday morning meeting. A news conference is scheduled following the vote.
Apple, which already employs about 7,000 people in Austin, has said the figures in the proposed Williamson County incentive agreement are “floors,” and it plans a much larger investment at the site and many more hires. The company also is in line to receive as much as $25 million for the new Austin campus from the state’s taxpayer-funded Texas Enterprise Fund.
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