Google Imposed Silence on North Carolina

by publicreader | February 2, 2007 at 08:21 am

398 views | 0 Recommendations | 0 comments

Google tried to silence lawmakers and pushed -- at times with a heavy hand -- to influence legislation designed to bring the company to Caldwell County.

The company demanded that legislators never speak its name, and had them scolded when word of its interest in North Carolina leaked out, according to records made public this week.

As work proceeded on a bill to remove tax burdens from Google's server farms in North Carolina, the company threatened to end the negotiations, and the company repeatedly demanded that its interest in the tax bill and in doing business in North Carolina be kept secret, or the deal was off. This emphasis on secrecy made Sen. Jim Jacumin(R- Caldwell County) feel that he "had to work in the dark", and under pressure.

The deal eventually went through, and Google will build a new center in Lenoir, with an attendant windfall of jobs (200) and investment ($100 million). To secure the deal, North Carolina's general assembly eliminated the sales tax on electricity and equipment, measures that could save Google as much as $89 million dollars over thirty years, according to the Charlotte Observer story.