Orr for Governor 2008:: Press Release

(Raleigh, NC)– BusinessWeek Magazine’s July 23, 2007 edition features the first in-depth article by a national publication to examine the means by which Google extracted several hundred million dollars in tax breaks and other benefits from state and local governments in North Carolina. The article, written by senior writer Nanette Byrnes, examines how Google was able to slip a special tax break package through the North Carolina General Assembly worth millions of dollars then leveraged local officials in Caldwell County into giving the company a virtually free ride on local property taxes for the next 30 years.

The article quotes Peter Fisher, professor at The University of Iowa, who estimated that the aggregate value of incentive packages in the country each year exceeds $50 billion. In North Carolina, Google receives an almost 100% break on property taxes for 30 years even though Google’s 1^st quarter profits in 2007 were in excess of $1 billion. Justice Orr’s quote in the BusinessWeek article was also included in Friday’s edition of the Wall Street Journal.

Justice Orr made the following statements:

“I am an outspoken opponent of the process and practices involved in these so-called targeted incentives. I applaud the story because it focuses on the terrible public policy practice involved with the Google deal in particular, but also on the national level.”

“This practice dramatically reduces revenue for state and local needs by providing enormous tax breaks and grants to selected major national and international corporations. In the mean time, small and medium size companies don’t receive the same breaks causing the tax burden to shift to individuals and local businesses. There is simply no valid reason to require the retired teacher or a laid off factory worker to pay property taxes while one of the wealthiest companies in the world is exempt.”

“The North Carolina Constitution requires that tax revenue be spent only for a public purpose. The article describes how the county actually paid for a couple’s divorce, apparently with tax money, in order to facilitate acquiring land that was provided to Google. If paying for a divorce with the public’s money constitutes ‘a public purpose’ then there is no limit to what the government can do with it.”

“We can do a better and fairer job in promoting economic development in North Carolina. I will be presenting a specific set of proposals in the upcoming months that would eliminate the abuses we’ve seen and produce a positive impact on businesses and communities all across our state.”