The Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) is pleased to announce Amazon Web Services, Inc. will expand its operations in Utah, creating 300 new jobs over the next 10 years.
“We are excited Amazon Web Services has decided to expand in Utah,” said Val Hale, executive director of the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development. “This expansion will bring high-paying, advanced manufacturing jobs to the state. We look forward to these new opportunities for Utah’s workforce.”
Amazon Web Services is a subsidiary of Amazon that provides on-demand cloud computing platforms to individuals, companies and governments. One of these services is Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud, which allows users to have a virtual cluster of computers through the internet. Amazon Web Services is implemented throughout the world at server farms.
Amazon Web Services may earn up to 20% of the new state taxes it will pay over the 10-year life of the agreement in the form of a Utah Legislature-authorized Economic Development Tax Increment Finance (EDTIF) tax credit. The GOED Board has approved a post-performance tax credit not to exceed $2,499,519. Each year that Amazon Web Services meets the criteria in its contract with the state, it will earn a portion of the total tax credit.
“These are high-wage, high-tech jobs that will have a significant multiplier effect on our economy. And it’s gratifying for the state to be selected by a company with the means to put this facility anywhere in the world,” said Theresa A. Foxley, president and CEO of the Economic Development Corporation of Utah. “It’s a great validation of our quality talent and pro-business environment.”
State of Utah Tax Credit Projections by the Numbers
| Tax Revenue | $12,497,597 |
| Wages | $304,259,525 |
| Jobs | 300 |
| Capital Investment | $25.3 million |
| Timeline | 10 years |
About Utah Corporate Incentives
The Utah Legislature has authorized economic development incentives in the form of post-performance tax credits. Eligible companies work with the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development to outline specific performance criteria. Once GOED confirms those criteria have been met, according to statute (U.C.A. 63N-2-106(2)), companies can receive a refund of up to 30% of the state taxes they paid for up to 20 years. The contract with the state is post-performance; it only provides a state tax credit if the company meets its obligations.