Corporate incentive packages have long been a standard economic development tool, but regional leaders are giving them increasing scrutiny following well-publicized reports of incentive deals gone bad (see, for example, the regular “Incentive Watch” entries on Ed Morrison’s EDPro blog).
Now Bob Orr, a North Carolina gubernatorial candidate, is promising to slash generous tax and cash incentives (especially involving intra-state competition for businesses), increase the transparency of the incentive process, and divert more state funding specifically to employer-customized workforce training.
RALEIGH, N.C. — An end to economic incentives programs and more money for worker training are among the goals of Bob Orr, a former state Supreme Court justice who is seeking the Republican nomination for governor.
Orr, who is leading a lawsuit challenging economic incentives for Dell Inc., said Monday that if elected he’ll work to bar local governments from using special payments or tax breaks to lure existing companies elsewhere in the state to relocate. County and city officials also would have to make public more details about incentive deals before they are considered, he said.