Wisconsin approves tax-incentive package for Foxconn plant

The state legislature voted to award the Taiwanese technology firm a $3 billion package to build a 2 million square-foot facility in Wisconsin.    The Wisconsin state assembly voted to approve a $3 billion tax-incentive package for Tawain’s Foxconn Technology Group, according to multiple media sources.
    Approximately $1.5 billion from the package will subsidize wages, $1.35 billion will support facility construction and up to $150 million will go towards ales tax exemption incentives.
   The Taiwanese firm plans to build a $10 billion LCD display panel plant in Wisconsin. The 20 million square-foot facility will employ up to 13,000 workers who will produce high-resolution liquid crystal displays in smartphones, TVs, and car dashboards. Governor Scott Walker said the plant will initially hire 3,000 people and will eventually rise to 13,000. Additionally, thousands of consulting firm jobs will be creating indirectly between the state and Foxconn, said the governor.
   The vote gained bipartisan support, allowing it to proceed to the Wisconsin state senate. Gov. Walker said the vote was the next step towards bringing “a high-tech ecosystem to Wisconsin.”
  Despite having bipartisan support, the vote was controversial after a state fiscal analysis found that taxpayers would not recoup investments in the 15-year tax-credit deal until 2042. 
   “I don’t want to gamble with the taxpayers money and if I’m going to break even in 25 years, that’s a horrible gamble. I’m better off putting my money in a mattress,” said Rep. Gary Hebl, a Democrat who voted against the bill.
   The state Senate hasn’t given a firm date for when it will take up the bill, but the majority leader expects the bill to pass before a Sept. 30 deadline.
   The firm is best known for assembling Apple iPhones in China and hopes the investment in the U.S. can help in re-creating the low-cost supply chain in the U.S. commonly seen in Asia. The investment “signifies the start of a series of investments by Foxconn in American manufacturing in the coming years,” said the firm in a statement.