Lawmakers Clash On Tracking Foxconn Jobs
Audit shows subsidy could reward out-of-state jobs; Fitzgerald and Shilling differ on need to fix this.
Wisconsin lawmakers are at odds over the importance of a new audit that questions how the state tracks jobs created by Foxconn Technology Group.
The audit, prepared by the Legislature’s audit bureau, found Wisconsin is at risk of awarding tax credits to Foxconn for out-of-state jobs.
Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said he spoke with the head of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., which oversees the state’s contract with Foxconn, after the report was released. Fitzgerald said the audit overstates the scope of the problem, because the type of out-of-state employee described could be as a few as “one guy.”
However, Democratic state Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling, D-La Crosse, is calling for more audits of Foxconn job creation in the wake of the report. She pointed out WEDC has been subject to a number of negative audits since its creation.
“Now to find out that Foxconn would be eligible for tax credits for employees (who) are working remotely and not even in Wisconsin and don’t live here … that is troubling,” Shilling said.
Democrats have questioned WEDC’s ability to effectively track Foxconn job creation and retention since the deal’s inception. Shilling said consistent third-party audits of WEDC’s tracking of Foxconn job creation would bolster public trust in the state’s economic development agency.
Fitzgerald acknowledged further audits are likely in the agency’s future.
“In the history of this state, I don’t think there’s been any agency that’s been as audited and as scrutinized as WEDC and, whether I like it or not, it’s going to continue,” he said.
Foxconn has said it plans to create up to 13,000 jobs and invest up to $13 billion at its future manufacturing facility in Mount Pleasant. The state has committed to paying up to $3 billion in tax credits for job creation and the company’s construction costs.
Listen to the WPR report here.
Fitzgerald, Shilling Clash Over Importance Of Foxconn Job-Tracking Audit was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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