NY taxpayers to pay $48,000 per Amazon HQ job

New York state is kicking in more than $1.5 billion in taxpayer-funded incentives for getting half of Amazon's second headquarters located in a section of Queens.

The Seattle-based company made its long-awaited announcement Tuesday, saying Long Island City and Alexandria, Virginia, will each get 25,000 jobs. The online retailer also said it will open an operations hub in Nashville, creating 5,000 jobs.

Amazon will also receive as-yet unspecified incentives from New York City.

New York state's incentives are nearly triple those of Virginia's, while Tennessee's are $102 million.

According to Amazon, the cost per job for New York taxpayers is $48,000, compared to $22,000 for Virginia and $13,000 for Tennessee.

In a statement released by Amazon, Cuomo called the agreement "one of the largest, most competitive economic development investments in U.S. history."

New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson issued a statement saying: "Amazon is one of the richest companies in the world...I also don't understand why a company as rich as Amazon would need nearly $2 billion in public money for its expansion plans at a time when New York desperately needs money for affordable housing, transportation, infrastructure and education."

FROM AP:

NEW YORK CITY - Long Island City

Incentives offered to Amazon:

-- Performance-based direct incentives of $1.525 billion, based on 25,000 full-time, high-paying jobs created. This includes a refundable tax credit of up to $1.2 billion calculated as a percentage of the salaries Amazon expects to pay employees over the next 10 years, which equates to $48,000 per job for 25,000 jobs with an average wage of over $150,000.

-- Cash grant of $325 million based on the square footage of buildings occupied in the next 10 years.

-- Amazon will also apply for as-of-right incentives including New York City's Industrial & Commercial Abatement Program and New York City's Relocation and Employment Assistance Program. There was no dollar figure immediately attached to this benefit.

City Benefits:

-- More than 25,000 full-time jobs.

-- $2.5 billion investment from Amazon.

-- Facilities totaling 4 million square feet, with the potential to double in size.

-- Projected incremental tax revenue of more than $10 billion over 20 years.

With the Associated Press.