From the Elkhart Truth:
City Councilman David Henke questioned the logic of tax abatement for a German company trying to establish a presence in North America and then voted against it.
Votes on tax abatements are often unanimous and debates don’t normally look at whether it is fair to local competing companies. Opposition to companies seeking tax abatement is about as rare as snow in July as it has evolved into a standard recruiting tool eagerly embraced by local communties even though approving requests results in a loss of new tax revenue for sometimes up to 10 years.
But Henke, clearly one of the more outspoken members of the Elkhart City Council, raised that issue Monday during the council’s discussion prior to a final vote on a request by Kiel North America LLC for tax breaks on $3.8 million in manufacturing equipment.
Kiel manufactures mass transit seating systems and already has a strong presence in Europe.
Henke said a local competitor of Kiel contacted him and questioned the fairness of offering Kiel tax breaks.
Kiel has two employees currently in Elkhart and plans to hire 62 people for its future manufacturing facility at 4519 Wyland Drive.
“I’m concerned that the 62 jobs we’re pushing for, we may actually push another company out of business that has successfully been here for some time,” Henke said.
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Henke on Monday also questioned whether tax abatement could “destabilize the playing field.”
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http://www.etruth.com/article/20120719/NEWS01/707199900/0/FRONTPAGE
