$352.3 MILLION OF YOUR MONEY … DOWN THE DRAIN
We wrote earlier this week on the latest Orlando, Florida layoffs announced by Nephron Pharmaceuticals … a.k.a. S.C. governor Nikki Haley‘s ongoing crony capitalist debacle.
Nephron has failed miserably to create the 707 high-paying ($70,000 a pop) jobs Haley promised back in 2011 when Nephron got its first round of taxpayer-funded incentives to build a heavily-subsidized facility in West Columbia, S.C.
We’ve written extensively about the failure of this plant …
Now, Nephron is attempting to add employees in South Carolina by cutting them in Florida – 250 employees, to be precise.
And while these 250 new employees – assuming they actually get hired – still wouldn’t bring Nephron anywhere near its promised Palmetto State capacity, it’s worth noting that company officials are touting ongoing tax breaks as part of their reason for shifting these jobs.
Take this report from Alex Keown of BioSpace.com …
The company chose to shift the operations to South Carolina due to tax incentives offered by government officials. South Carolina’s tax package had the potential of $352.3 million in savings, mostly from tax exemptions from property taxes for 30 years.
Wait … what?
That’s right … you read that number correctly: $352.3 million.
Three-hundred-fifty-two million dollars …
Oh, and most of it is coming in the form of property tax breaks, which of course will be passed on in the form of higher property taxes for … well … you.
It would be one thing if Nephron was honoring its promises in exchange for such largesse. But it’s not. In fact Keown’s article confirms our previous reporting about the company, noting that “Nephron initially said it planned on hiring approximately 700 employees for the South Carolina facility, but that has not come to pass.”
Ya think?
This website was suspicious of the Nephron deal from the beginning – and said so. In fact, five years ago we published a detailed story regarding its questionable financials – and we also wrote extensively at the time about pay-to-play allegations involving Nephron and the governor. Not only that, we busted Haley in a lie regarding her prior connections to the company’s founders – Bill Kennedy and his wife, Lou Kennedy (who have contributed thousands of dollars to Haley’s political campaigns and who frequently allowed Haley access to Nephron’s private jet).
Nothing has happened, though …
The company went ahead and built a gleaming government-subsidized facility, and is now prepared to sit back and enjoy tax breaks for decades to come … at your expense. And no one in the state’s left-leaning mainstream media is holding Haley accountable because they are too busy cheerleading for this scam.
Don’t believe us? Check out this June 2014 “news story” published by The (Columbia, S.C.) State newspaper. Seriously, read it. It might as well be an infomercial for these crony capitalist glad-handers.
Don’t worry, though … the newspaper is getting a special tax break, too.
We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again …
Government shouldn’t be in the economic development business … unless of course it is providing broad-based tax relief to all individuals and businesses, not just a select few.
22 comments
Well Hell Wil – you can’t attract companies to SC for a low ball figure like $200 million.
You should really accentuate the fact tax breaks aren’t bad, but that they should just be for everyone instead of a select few that payoff crooked pols.
The mentality surrounding SC’s tax rate is such that a small business has a much harder time becoming a big business in state because of the disproportionate tax system that favors large companies that can afford to buy off pols and/or threaten to take their business elsewhere.
The statist’s viewpoint isn’t to create a successful low tax environment for everyone, instead it’s to “get those that we can” in terms of tax revenue….a truly sorry state of affairs.
Wouldn’t it be nice if SC was a place businesses were dying to relocate to? You know, because of our great infrastructure, educated workforce, excellent schools and temperate climate? OK, so we got one out of four. Couple that with our anti-union stance and cheap work force and you know why we’re competing to out incentive AL, MS, and TN to get manufacturing lured here.
I wonder who the next dipshit republican governor will be? Even Sanford may make a cumback.
More snot-blowing and apologizing.
Damn, I can hardly wait…
Whatever happened to that homewrecker he was sleeping with? That man is shameful.
She’s still around. She’s called Beauty of Buenos Aires, and she’s super hot!!!! She is like a little South America. Towering Andes, warm tropical breezes, European culture, and vocal in everything (and I mean – everything!!!!)
Scott will run for Governor. It’s part of his deal to be a place holder for Haley to be a US Senator (God help us and the United States of America, if this ever happens), all put together by the crooked Jim DeMint when he was a US Senator. And, funded by: “you gotta love them: The Koch Brothers.” All brought to you by their heavily funded “John Birch Society,” and their father’s money. Every dime made possible by oil deals with Adolph Hitler and the Nazi Party.
Isn’t life wonderful; when SC voters stick their heads in the ground while we all get rear ended by Texas Long Horns.
NO U DIDN’T!!!!!!!!!!
What living in South Carolina is like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrectdcH81U
Seems like built in to the tax break contract would be a clause that if the promised number of jobs are not delivered then a portion of the tax breaks go away.
A very high probability these tax breaks are rolled into cash benefits for those responsible for over-seeing these one-sided, lopsided deals, completely not in t he interest of the average tax paying victim!!!!
Did Nephron ever get FDA clearance for several of their products that had problems a couple of years ago? Failure to get FDA clearance would certainly cut into the necessity of hiring people in either SC or FL… If one can’t sell it, there’s no point in making it… &c., &c.
Trump would have negotiated a much better contract. Nephron doesn’t hit its hiring target? Incentives adjusted accordingly. Oh, and he’d make Florida pay for the incentives.
I read GE only got $20 million over 10 years in property tax ‘relief’ to move from Connecticut to Massachusetts
So, if the Nephron story is correct, whoever approved that – county, city or state – needs to be fired.
$145 million for GE move.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/general-electric-plans-to-move-headquarters-to-boston-1452703676
Fits conveniently left out that SC, unlike Florida, caps property taxes on factory equipment. That is one reason Nephron gave for moving to SC and that is a broad-based tax break to all businesses with large investments in plant equipment, not a crony capitalist picking of winners and losers.
http://www.pharmalive.com/nephron-pharma-cuts-another-250-employees-at-orlando-hq/
What are you talking about with “caps” on how SC taxes factory equipment? Are you referring to FILOT’s, which are definitely crony capitalist, or is there some part of SC’s tax code that you are referring to that you can link to that say such a cap is in existence?
Not sure if this is it or not.
SECTION 12-37-220. General exemption from taxes.
(7) all new manufacturing establishments located in any of the counties of this State after July 1, 1977, for five years from the time of establishment and all additions to the existing manufacturing establishments located in any of the counties of this State for five years from the time each such addition is made if the cost of such addition is fifty thousand dollars or more. Such additions shall include additional machinery and equipment installed in the plant. Provided, however, that the exemptions authorized in this item for manufacturing establishments, and additions thereto, shall not include exemptions from school taxes or municipal taxes but shall include only county taxes. Provided, further, that all manufacturing establishments and all additions to existing manufacturing establishments exempt under statutes in effect February 28, 1978, shall be allowed their exemptions provided for by statute until such exemptions expire;
Thank you, I appreciate that link. $50k in investments isn’t that large a sum of money, but it does once again favor big business over small.
But, but, it treats all big businesses equally. At least they don’t have to make that campaign contribution to get it. :-)
lol, well the contributions go for FILOT’s to take care of the other taxes.