Good afternoon everyone,
Many are scratching their heads over Barclays decision to move 500 jobs to a campus in Whippany, a community in Morris County, NJ.
The answer may be found in a calculation of New Jersey’s corporate handouts.
As noted in a story in Delaware Business Now, The Subsidy Tracker website reports that New Jersey has forked over more than $40 million in incentives to Barclays, with Delaware coming up with a paltry $1 million.
Corporate tax breaks that may or may not be tied to the Barclays move have amounted to $11 billion, according to a report from the New Jersey State Auditor. The report went on to note that few controls exist in monitoring whether companies live up to their job promises.
Employees relocating to Morris County will be paid relocation expenses, but will pay a hefty price for a house.
One home on the market is listed at about $500,000 (a budget price in the county) but comes with a $20,000 annual property tax bill.
One area where the North Jersey county appears to excel in comparison to northern Delaware is public education.
Then again, if you are paying the equivalent of the price for a luxury car every couple of years in property taxes, the school system better be good and trash should be picked up daily.
Enjoy your weekend. This newsletter will take a breather over the weekend and return on Monday.
If this newsletter was passed along and you liked what you read, sign up here to get your own daily Email and get our observations on the business scene.
If you have any comments pro or con, or news tips, hit return, attach the item, or type away. – Doug Rainey, chief content officer