Missouri's Boeing incentives could total $1.7B

[unhappycamper]

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2013/12/03/2927087/senate-house-plan-hearings-on.html

Missouri's Boeing incentives could total $1.7B
By DAVID A. LIEB
Associated Press
December 3, 2013 Updated 10 hours ago

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri senators hoping to land production of a new Boeing airplane were set to begin debate Wednesday on a package of incentives valued at up to $1.7 billion over two decades.

The proposed incentives — which are dependent on the creation of thousands of new jobs — cleared their first test Tuesday evening by flying through a Senate committee that heard testimony from a large contingent of St. Louis area officials backing the plan.

A more telling test will come when the legislation is debated by the full Senate, where some Republicans remain philosophically opposed to tailoring tax breaks for specific businesses and want to offset the Boeing incentives with reductions to other tax credits.

Missouri is one of more than a dozen states that received invitations from Boeing to bid on the production of the next-generation 777X commercial airplane after machinist union members in Washington state rejected a proposed contract that sought concessions on pensions and health care costs.