Here in Oregon, notable tax breaks have been granted to Nike, Intel and others. The issue comes up periodically, especially in election years. Concerns about companies paying a "fair share" of taxes is very common, but doesn't go anywhere.

As I see it, giving the tax break is a gamble. The state or local government wagers that the tax relief will bring in more revenue (through increased jobs, stimulating local business, etc.) than lost in the incentive package.

With really large companies the bet usually pays off, but of course it sometimes doesn't. But that's what gambling is all about.

IIRC, Intel shopped for a location for a chip fab back in the 1990s - Pentium F00F bug timeframe - and narrowed the possible sites down to 12 or 15, then to 8 or 10, etc. and finally to 3 states, and basically asked them to bid with tax credits for a ~2 billion project, and they all gradually raised their bets until nobody would offer more - and then Intel accepted all 3 offers - New Mexico, Oregon, and one other. Smooth move on Intel's part, and it worked out for them. The "winning" states had more mixed feelings.

edit: s{386}{Pentium} and here's an adequate recap: http://development.cfed.org/focus.m?parentid=34&siteid=1629&...

So, when I see that Tesla needs to spend ~$10 billion, and is only required to spend 3.5B, I can't help but wonder if other sites/states are still bidding.

I don't remember what happened back then, but I do know that here in Oregon, Intel has received tax breaks from the state and Washington County where the Intel R&D fab is located. OTOH while Intel has fabs in many places, their investment in this region has grown rather steadily over the years.

It's reported that Intel remains the state's single largest employer. As far as Oregon is concerned, and the Portland metro area in particular, the tax break for jobs tradeoff looks like a pretty good deal after all.

Though property owners grouse about Intel avoiding its "fair share" of taxes, our local, regional and state governments aren't likely to complain or change their policies.

What right does the government of Nevada has to gamble with taxpayers' money? There are enough casinos in the state such that people can gamble their own money quite easily if they choose to do so. They don't need their own government putting it on red on their behalf.