economic development | ARLnow.com

Amazon Could Avoid Paying Any Business License Taxes in Arlington, Even Without Incentive Program

Published March 11, 2019 at 1:30PM | Updated March 11, 2019 at 1:53PM

Arlington officials have pitched Amazon on a program to help the company slash its business license tax burden when it sets up shop in Pentagon City and Crystal City — but the county is also admitting that Amazon could avoid that particular tax altogether.

Should an incentive package designed to bring the tech giant’s new headquarters to Arlington win county approval this weekend, Amazon will still be subject to all manner of local levies. In particular, officials are counting on real estate tax revenues from the company to generate an extra $342 million for county coffers over the next 16 years.

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published March 11, 2019 at 7:30AM

Residents Support HQ2 in Letters — “Many Arlingtonians want Amazon.com Inc. to set up HQ2 in Crystal City and Pentagon City — or at least that is what a slew of letters and emails to the [Arlington County Board] seems to indicate… ‘I would say the theme of the emails is: ‘Don’t blow it,” [Libby] Garvey said.” [Washington Business Journal]

Expect Fireworks at County Board Meeting — “Board Chair Christian Dorsey (D) said he has ‘no interest’ in postponing [this weekend’s Amazon] vote and has heard no suggestions to do so from other board members. He expects the measure to pass, but he also said anywhere from 100 to 400 speakers could show up for the public hearing before the vote.” [Washington Post]

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Amazon Could Take Advantage of a Tech Incentive Program to Generate Hefty Tax Savings

By Alex Koma

Published March 6, 2019 at 3:30PM | Updated March 7, 2019 at 9:37AM

The office building at 241 18th Street S. that Amazon plans to occupy in Crystal City.

(Updated at 4:45 p.m.) Once Amazon starts to move into Arlington, the company could take advantage of a little-used county incentive program for tech firms to substantially slash its local tax burden.

Documents released in late January show that Arlington officials explicitly pitched the tech giant on the prospect of scoring major tax savings through the county’s “Technology Zone” program, back when they were still wooing Amazon last year. Created in 2001 and last updated in 2014, the program was designed to provide incentives for high-tech businesses to move to Arlington by offering significantly reduced rates for the county’s “Business, Professional and Occupational License” tax in certain neighborhoods.

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Small Biz Focus: What Economic Development Means to Arlington County

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

Published February 27, 2019 at 12:00PM

This article was written by Christina Winn, Director of Business Investment for Arlington Economic Development.

As a professional economic developer, I’m often asked by my fellow Arlington residents and business owners about the importance of economic development.

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In Rare Public Appearance, Amazon Leaders Pledge to Become ‘Good Neighbors’ in Arlington

By Alex Koma

Published February 22, 2019 at 1:30PM

An Amazon executive joins leaders from around the region for a panel discussion.

Amazon executives say they’re looking forward to becoming “good neighbors” in Arlington, delivering a decidedly optimistic message to local leaders in one of the company’s first public events since tabbing the county for its new headquarters.

The tech giant’s head of worldwide economic development, Holly Sullivan, assured a crowd of government officials and business executives last night (Thursday) that the company is looking to build a “sustainable long-term partnership” in the region. That presented a stark contrast with Amazon’s recent decision to spurn New York City over concerns that local leaders were insufficiently supportive of a new headquarters there.

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BREAKING: Amazon Cancels NYC HQ2 Plans, But Leaders Say ‘Nothing Has Changed’ for Arlington

By Alex Koma

Published February 14, 2019 at 11:50AM | Updated February 14, 2019 at 6:00PM

A rendering of Amazon's planned development at the "PenPlace" site in Pentagon City

(Updated at 2:45 p.m.) Amazon is cancelling plans to build half of its “HQ2” in New York City, citing mounting criticism from local officials and activists in its reasoning for abandoning its other proposed location for a new headquarters outside Arlington.

But Amazon said in a statement announcing the change that it does not intend to re-open the HQ2 search and will “proceed as planned in Northern Virginia and Nashville.”

By Alex Koma

Published November 13, 2018 at 3:50PM | Updated November 14, 2018 at 10:16AM

(Updated at 4:05 p.m.) Concerns about the wisdom of doling out millions in incentives to lure Amazon to Arlington have abounded ever since rumors first kicked up that the company could head to the county — but Tuesday’s celebration of the move in Pentagon City didn’t betray much trepidation among state and local leaders.

Instead, Gov. Ralph Northam and a cadre of others devoted the afternoon to hailing the tech giant’s decision to bring a new headquarters to Arlington as a transformative one for the region.