Rep. Hintz Statement on Foxconn Cost to Taxpayers
"As the LFB memo shows, if this multi-billion dollar tax deal goes as planned, taxpayers would pay one billion dollars more to Foxconn than the state would take in for the first 15 years."
Foxconn chairman Terry Gou and Governor Scott Walker signing a memorandum of understanding. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
MADISON – Today, the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau released a memo on Governor Walker’s three billion dollar taxpayer funded package for the Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn. The memo showed that in the best-case scenario, it will take taxpayers until 2043 to recoup three billion dollars of their investment in the foreign corporation. In response, Rep. Gordon Hintz (D-Oshkosh), a member of the budget-writing Joint Committee on Finance, released the following statement:
“As today’s memo shows, Wisconsin taxpayers are assuming 100% of the risk of this proposal, and are smart to be skeptical of the deal and ask questions. When it comes to job creation, both this company and Governor Walker have a proven track record of ‘overpromise and underperform’.
“This memo highlights the cost of Governor Walker’s taxpayer funded package to future budgets and leaves many unanswered questions. The facts we do know are these: in order to afford Governor Walker’s past corporate tax giveaways, deep cuts have been made to important priorities like our public schools, the UW system, and local community infrastructure. Before the 2017-19 budget is even passed, the 2019-21 budget faces a billion dollar structural deficit. As the LFB memo shows, if this multi-billion dollar tax deal goes as planned, taxpayers would pay one billion dollars more to Foxconn than the state would take in for the first 15 years. Taxpayer funded assistance this massive in size will certainly create budget problems for the state, and likely result in another round of cuts to our most valued priorities. When considering this multi-billion dollar legislation, we must also consider the far-reaching impacts it will have on every budget for the next 15 years.”
“While there has been plenty of news on the potential benefit of paying Foxconn to come to Wisconsin, there have been fewer details on the tradeoffs involved for taxpayers, and the many questions that need to be answered.”
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.
More about the Foxconn Facility
- Foxconn Will Get State Subsidy For 2022 - Joe Schulz - Dec 11th, 2023
- Mount Pleasant Approves Microsoft Deal on Foxconn Land - Evan Casey - Nov 28th, 2023
- Mount Pleasant Deal With Microsoft Has No Public Subsidies - Evan Casey - Nov 14th, 2023
- Microsoft, State Announce Massive Data Center Expansion, Land Purchase - Joe Schulz - Nov 11th, 2023
- Gov. Evers Announces Microsoft Makes Major Investment in Wisconsin - Gov. Tony Evers - Nov 10th, 2023
- State Can’t Regulate We Energies $100 Million Project for Microsoft - Joe Schulz - Sep 20th, 2023
- Foxconn Selling Green Bay, Eau Claire ‘Centers’ - Joe Schulz - Aug 16th, 2023
- Murphy’s Law: Foxconn Deal Is Still Costing Taxpayers - Bruce Murphy - Jul 6th, 2023
- Microsoft Will Pay $50 Million For Mount Pleasant Data Center Site - Evan Casey - Apr 20th, 2023
- Microsoft Data Center Proposed for Foxconn Land - Evan Casey - Mar 29th, 2023
Read more about Foxconn Facility here
Mentioned in This Press Release
Recent Press Releases by State Rep. Gordon Hintz
I wounder if some republicans in the legislature who were blindly cheering this deal on are now privately asking themselves ” How big of a fool is Walker’s adminstration?”
I am against corporate welfare just based on principle, but holy cow this deal looks worse all the time. 25 year payback based on optimistic assumptions, when the LCD monitor industry will have completely changed in 15 leaving the plant obsolete and vacant. Sound like taxpayers are on the hook big time, not even factoring in the Superfund clean up when foxCONN pulls up stakes as well.