Mayor Kasim Reed says city and state officials are willing to roll out the red carpet in the form of tax breaks for the coveted General Electric headquarters.
In an interview with Bloomberg News posted Thursday, Reed said Atlanta and Georgia leaders will offer “whatever is reasonable to get it done,” if given the chance.
Georgia is among the states courting the Connecticut-based industrial giant since it announced plans to review relocation options following a tax dispute with state officials there. Jeffrey Immelt, GE's CEO, first expressed interest in potentially leaving Connecticut earlier this year over lawmakers' plans to raise taxes to plug a budget hole.
Gov. Nathan Deal and Reed have traveled to New York to pitch GE executives. The number of jobs it could potentially bring isn’t known, though the company has about 800 workers at its Fairfield campus. GE is expected to announce its decision by the end of the year.
State and city officials have stepped up efforts to lure the country's most prominent companies to the area. Recent wins include home builder Pulte Group, which relocated from Michigan to Buckhead, and Mercedes-Benz USA, which left New Jersey with plans to build its new headquarters in Sandy Springs.
For Reed, it’s not just about jobs and economic development, but part of a broader hope to raise Atlanta’s profile as an international city.
“Having one of the top 10 most important companies in the world put their logo over the city of Atlanta skyline is not just about the tax-break number. It is about what it says to the world,” Reed told Bloomberg.
One person with knowledge of the situation said GE examined Three Alliance Center, a Buckhead office building now under construction, as recently as last month.
Georgia and local government have powerful war chests of incentives at their disposal. The state can offer tax credits for new jobs, grants and free worker training. The city of Atlanta has its own grant program, and communities with development authorities can also offer significant property tax breaks.
Earlier this year, Deal won approval from lawmakers to supercharge the state’s grant programs — known as REBA and EDGE — as part of the state’s recruitment of automakers Jaguar Land Rover and Volvo. JLR decided not to build a factory in North America, and Volvo picked South Carolina.
Those new, unused funds could potentially sweeten Georgia’s bid.
Deal’s office and the Georgia Department of Economic Development declined comment Thursday.
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