NRA fight could affect Amazon HQ2
Atlanta’s bid might be less attractive now.
SAN FRANCISCO – The highly politicized fight to yank a planned Georgia tax cut for Delta Air Lines following its decision to drop an NRA discount could make Atlanta a less attractive candidate for Amazon’s second headquarters, say some experts.
That sort of economic uncertainty for incentives is rare and nothing businesses want, they say. It’s also a possible ding against Atlanta in a field of 19 other cities all vying for what Amazon says will be a $5 billion capital investment and 50,000 new tech-oriented jobs.
“I have never seen a case where, once an incentive was granted, it was then taken away,” says Frank Hefner, a professor of economics at the University of Charleston in South Carolina, who studies financial incentives in economic development. “This is capricious.”
Georgia’s Senate on Thursday approved a tax bill that removes a $50 million jet fuel tax exemption after Atlantabased Delta Air Lines said it would stop giving discounts to National Rifle Association members in the wake of the shooting at a Florida high school Feb. 14.
The bill had already passed in the state House, so the two bodies must now craft a final version to send to the governor’s desk.
Amazon did not respond to a request for comment.
The company’s unusual decision last year to accept public, competing proposals for a city or region with a “stable and business-friendly environment” where it will build a second headquarters sparked fierce competition among hundreds of municipalities vying for the high-paying jobs, investment and bragging rights that would come with luring Amazon.
Atlanta boosters say Georgia is doing itself no favors with the rush to punish one of the state’s largest employers.
A turbulent political environment is exactly the situation corporations want to avoid, says Jeffrey Shulman, a marketing professor at the University of Washington in Seattle who studies Amazon.
“If you’re running a major company, it’s a scary thought that your business decisions could affect your economic situation further down the road,” he says.
Amazon’s request for proposals for its second headquarters includes a requirement for “a compatible cultural and community environment.”
Just as Delta ran afoul of Georgia lawmakers over the NRA, Amazon in Georgia could come to grief over its long-standing support for LGBTQ rights.
That stance is at odds with strong sentiments among some Georgian lawmakers. Last week, the state Senate passed a bill allowing adoption agencies funded with taxpayer money to refuse to help same-sex couples adopt.
The business world is also changing in that more and more companies are “becoming the strongest voices in debates like these,” says Kenneth Merritt, managing director of strategy and transformation at the consulting firm MorganFranklin.
“Fifty years ago, corporations never took positions on social issues. This is a new trend,” says Hefner.