Georgia offered Mercedes more than 23M in incentives to move, report says

So how exactly did Christopher M. Carr — commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development — lure Mercedes-Benz USA away from its headquarters in Montvale to Atlanta?According to The Wall Street Journal, it took more than $23 million in state job-tax credits, exemptions and development funds — an offer that New Jersey seemingly wasn’t able to match.

Georgia’s formal offer included:

• More than $17 million in five-year tax credits given by the state in exchange for job creation in Atlanta;
• Approximately $6 million in development funding;
• Lower corporate-tax rates;
• A partial tax exemption for construction materials to build a new headquarters;
• A local tax abatement for 10 years, to be valued and finalized once an exact location for the new headquarters is chosen.

RELATED: Mercedes confirms HQ moving from Montvale to Atlanta

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal — who has been known to go head-to-head against other governors in his push to attract new business to Georgia — called MBUSA’s move “simply a home run for the state” in an email last week to The Wall Street Journal.

Steven Cannon, president of MBUSA, agreed.

He said that, while the company had been choosing between Atlanta; Dallas; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Charlotte, North Carolina, Cannon said Atlanta ultimately won because of its location between the company’s manufacturing plant in Vance, Alabama, and the Georgia Port Authority port at Brunswick, where the company imports most of its cars.

Nearby access to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport also will assist MBUSA when it assumes responsibility of operations for Canada and Mexico in addition to the U.S.

New Jersey officials have not discussed any counteroffers that may have been put forth.

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