Georgia punishing Delta over NRA stance won't help Atlanta's bid for Amazon HQ2
If the city of Atlanta still has a chance of winning the Amazon HQ2 sweepstakes over 19 other finalist metro areas, Georgia lawmakers are doing everything in their power to prevent it from happening. The latest was the decision on Thursday by Georgia lawmakers to pull a tax break for Delta Air Lines, which calls Atlanta home, after Delta was among the first major corporations to end discounts for NRA members.
Amazon is closing in on its search for a second headquarters, and a bill that punishes a company for its political leanings by repealing a tax break probably won't sit well with the socially progressive Amazon as it compares the pitches, including tax incentives, that the Amazon HQ2 cities and states have put together.
Delta announced on Saturday it would no longer give discounts to NRA members travelling to Dallas in May for the organization's annual meeting. The Georgia tax bill pulls a jet-fuel exemption for Delta, valued at $50 million.
The move by Georgia's statehouse was not a complete surprise as earlier in the week Casey Cagle, Georgia's lieutenant governor who presides over Georgia's Senate, said in a tweet he would "kill any tax legislation" that helps Delta unless the company continues ties with the NRA.
Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/02/georgia-lawmakers-delta-attack-wont-help-atlanta-bid-for-amazon-hq2.html
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that state and local taxpayers pay to entice business.
That being said, Georgia is wrong in trying to bargain with Delta. Delta will win.
Sadly, the workers, as usual, are being used as leverage. They have the privilege of paying taxes to support their own "private" employer.
Hey, Atlanta... you probably don't need that Bezos guy and your deliveries aren't likely to arrive any earlier, either.
