INC NEWS - No incentives needed (Herald-Sun letter)

[Caleb Southern]

"Research shows the same money could be better spent on Durham's
infrastructure -- especially our roads and schools. Extra attention to the
quality level of basic services would go a long way, too."

And I would add CRIME REDUCTION.

Caleb Southern

***

No incentives needed
Letter: Herald-Sun

I read your Oct. 2 article "Quintiles gets $2M incentives package" and I
share the Durham County Commissioners' excitement over Quintiles
Transnational Corporation's proposed expansion in Durham's Research Triangle
Park. 

If it works out, the 220,000-square-foot physical expansion will add almost
$11 million to Durham's tax base and create 1,000 new jobs. There's no doubt
this would be fantastic for Durham County, but Quintiles stands to gain by
being in Durham too. In fact, Durham County has so much to offer I don't
understand why commissioners felt it necessary to offer Quintiles $2 million
of Durham taxpayers' money as an incentive to expand here. 

County Manager Mike Ruffin said the incentives offered by Durham County
would be a "very important step in the decision [Quintiles] will make", but
research doesn't support Ruffin's claim. Six years ago, Dennis A. Rondinelli
and William J. Burpitt at UNC's Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise found
that the most important factors that companies weighed in deciding where to
locate are the availability and quality of labor, transportation
infrastructure (airports and highways), quality of life issues (schools and
cost of living), and the overall business climate (taxes). Government
incentives and tax credits were near the bottom of the list! Other similar
studies confirm these findings. 

In the future, our elected officials could better sustain Durham's
attractiveness to all businesses (small and large) by eliminating the
multi-million dollar tax incentives to large corporations. Research shows
the same money could be better spent on Durham's infrastructure --
especially our roads and schools. Extra attention to the quality level of
basic services would go a long way, too. 

The writer is president of Weichert, Realtors-Mark Thomas Properties. 

MARK K. THOMAS

November 14, 2006