Samsung seeks $806 million in tax cuts if Austin wants its new chip plant

Samsung has been thinking about setting up a new chip manufacturing plant in the United States. The company wants to expand its foundry business to bring in new customers. It aims to invest upwards of $10 billion into a new facility.

Samsung already has a chip plant in Austin and it’s looking to expand the facility. However, the company wants certain incentives. If Austin wants its $17 billion factory, it needs to give Samsung at least $806 million in tax cuts.

Austin may have competition for the project

Documents filed by Samsung with Texas state officials reveal that the company wants to break ground on a new $17 billion chip plant in Austin that would create 1,800 jobs. However, it would like to receive tax incentives of almost $806 million over the next two decades from Travis County and the city of Austin in addition to other tax abatements.

Samsung mentions in the documents that if it selects Austin for the new plant, it will start construction work in the second quarter of this year. The factory would then become operational by the third quarter of 2023.

Nudging officials for the tax incentives, Samsung reminds them that this is a highly competitive project and that the company is “looking at alternative sites in the US including Arizona and New York, as well as abroad in Korea…”

US Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer has already shown some interest in winning Samsung’s project for his home state of New York. He has also pledged to secure federal incentives for the plant.

Samsung confirmed to Reuters in a statement that while it’s considering an expansion of its chip facilities, it hasn’t made a decision yet as to where the plant will be situated. The kind of incentives it can secure will obviously be a major factor in the decision.