A question of incentives

When looking at these other projects, it’s also clear the company is in a rush to get started on the Oklahoma City project. But the deal is not done. Incentives are being discussed. Amazon is still not talking.

When they do, I’ll be curious to see the rationale behind incentivizing an operation where wages will likely range between $10 and $15 an hour. The Tulsa World is reporting Amazon is looking to build a warehouse near Tulsa International Airport.

This isn’t a competition for the Amazon second headquarters. This is an operation being built in cities across the country. And Amazon appears to want proximity to major airports.

Amazon was built with the advantage of not requiring sales taxes in cities like Oklahoma City. Brick-and-mortar stores — big ones — have collapsed in Amazon’s wake, hurting the city’s sales tax collections. Amazon in the last quarter of 2017 recorded a record $2 billion profit.

Only in the last year has Amazon agreed to collect sales taxes, an agreement that really wasn’t an option if they were going to open these operations in Oklahoma City and elsewhere in Oklahoma.

So, there’s that.

I still remember when incentives were being requested by Cabela’s to locate a store at Memorial and Western, I asked the company’s representative if they “needed” the city’s money, which had to be approved by the Oklahoma City Council.

No, he responded. But the incentives were available, so why not ask? I reported this. The deal was still done.