Intel gets tax breaks while local authorities lose revenue, claims policy org

Intel has become the latest target for Good Jobs First, which questions why the chipmaker continues to receive tax breaks from key states, long after setting up shop there, and laying off thousands of workers in those regions.

The non-profit organization, which promotes accountability in economic development, says the chipmaker promised billions of dollars in investment and thousands of high-tech jobs for the areas surrounding its manufacturing plants in Hillsboro, Oregon, and Rio Rancho, New Mexico.

Its report, The Bleeding Edge: How the Public Pays the Costs of Intel’s Semiconductor Manufacturing, claims that Intel's property tax breaks cost these communities more than $1.2 billion in lost revenue since 2015, and the brunt of the shortfall has largely fallen on schools funded by those local governments.

For Oregon, Good Jobs First says that property tax abatements from Intel's use of the Strategic Investment Program (SIP) exempted it from at least $1.14 billion, while Hillsboro schools lost $891 million in revenue from …