Update: At the morning meeting of the Committee of the Whole, the commission voted to approve both tax exemptions to Perrigo.

Generic pharmaceutical manufacturer Perrigo is building a new North American headquarters on Grand Rapids’ Medical Mile. This international company (based in Ireland, for tax purposes) with $5 Billion in annual revenue is seeking two 12 years of tax exemptions valued at $4.1 million. Of that money, Grand Rapids itself will lose out on $797,000 property tax revenue.

Please consider adding your voice to the movement of people demanding big business pays their fair share of taxes. Grand Rapids’ City Commissioners are planning to vote on the twelve year tax exemption. The Commission has complete control over granting these exemptions.

Call into Tuesday’s City Commission online meeting at 7pm to ask for our representatives to bargain for their community!

In his presentation to the City Commission on January 12th, Perrigo’s Executive VP, Ron Janish, explains Grand Rapids was selected over Chicago and Southwest Florida due to our proximity to their manufacturing operations, our tremendously skilled applicant pool, and our robust life science and healthcare community. We have something valuable to them. They don’t need a tax incentive. They want Grand Rapids!

“What Grand Rapids has to offer, frankly, is going to allow us to easily tap into a whole array of healthcare and innovation thought leaders that are right here in our own backyard.”

Only 50 of the 150 jobs will be newly created positions, the rest are current employees of Perrigo. Over the course of the 15 year lease, the workers of Perrigo will contribute $1.5 million in income, while Perrigo would only pay $1.1 million in property taxes.

Now, when many families are struggling, is not the time to be giving a multi-billion dollar business a tax break. The city has invested in making the city attractive to business. When a business selects the Medical Mile for their pharmaceutical headquarters, it’s time to cash in on that investment. Not give handouts to elites and shift the tax burden onto working people.

The post Call in to Tell the GR City Commission “Make Perrigo Pay It’s Fair Share” appeared first on Grand Rapids Democratic Socialists of America.