CAMERON—Milam County Commissioners, in a 4-0 vote Tuesday, accommodated Bitmain by slightly altering its tax abatement requirements.
The vote—which essentially gives the cryptocurrency giant a little “wiggle room” in fulfilling jobs-provided and funds-invested requirements to obtain tax breaks—followed a Thursday workshop session.
County Judge Dave Barkemeyer had said previously Bitmain—which is moving into the former smelter at Alcoa’s Rockdale Operations—had expressed concern over language in a tax abatement approved by commissioners in August.
“RECAPTURE”—The document sets out numerical goals for Bitmain on jobs and funds invested over a 10-year period.
Under the original contract, if those goals were not exactly met, the county could take action to “recapture”—claim taxes not paid.
Kyle Nuttall, assistant county attorney, opened Thursday’s workshop by explaining “...they are supposed to have 350 employees and if they only have 349 we can review where they are at and why.”
He said the county could then decide if it wanted to do a recapture and seek back taxes from the company.
Kara Clore, executive director of the Rockdale Municipal Development District, noted the agreement calls for 180 employees by the end of the first year and 215 the second year.
COMPROMISE—Commissioners decided on an 85 percent compliance figure for job numbers and 75 percent for promised spending before the automatic recapture mechanism begins.
Clore explained: “Here’s what that means. If Bit-main hits 100 percent of those number goals, then, of course, there’s no problem,” she said.
“If it’s under 85 percent for employment or 75 percent for investment, then the matter goes directly to the commissioners to decide on recapture,” he said.
“But, after this revisiting process, if the numbers fall in between 75 and 85 percent, the commissioners can decide if they want to be lenient, or not, so far as recapturing taxes are concerned.”
INTERVIEWING—Clo-re pointed out even though Bitmain is currently in a nationwide 45-day work stoppage while it goes public with stock, the company has continued to interview for jobs.
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