Taxpayer-Financed Corporate Welfare For Microsoft Coming To Iowa?

From the Des Moines Register:

Microsoft Corp. is considering Iowa for a data center that would offer high wages and employ more than 60 people, state lawmakers said today.

Lawmakers have been sworn to secrecy on most of the details of the software giant’s plans for its planned Web search portal facility — and Iowa is not the only state competing for the project.

“I’ve been given quite a bit of confidential information by Microsoft,” Rep. Phil Wise, a Keokuk Democrat, said today. “I can’t tell you the size of the investment, but it is indeed hundreds of millions of dollars. I can’t tell you the number of jobs, but it is in the hundreds of jobs. I can’t tell you the nature of the wages for the jobs, but it would be one of the best sets of jobs ever created in the history of Iowa.”

Lawmakers are trying to fast-track a set of tax breaks for Microsoft through the Iowa House this week, Wise said.

Rep. Paul Shomshor said construction materials for the data facility would be exempt from sales taxes, and the technology equipment inside the building would be exempt from property taxes.

“I think it’s great,” said Shomshor, a Democrat from Council Bluffs

Last year, the Iowa Legislature gave away the tax goose to Google, so I'm not surprised that the Iowa Legislature wants to get their kneepads out for Microsoft.

Wildly profitable companies like Microsoft should naturally be exempt from paying their fair share of property and sales taxes. Don't cha think?

Only the "little people" pay taxes, right Phil Wise and Paul Shomshor?

Talk about DINOs: Democrats In Name Only.

Are these the same Democrats who didn't mind suing Microsoft a few years ago for "overcharging" people $10 for Microsoft Word back in the early 1990s?

Now, suddenly, Microsoft is a company they want to throw taxpayer dollars towards!

Notice how the Des Moines Register doesn't compute how much tax revenue might potentially be put in Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer's bank accounts rather than your local schools.

And all to claim they helped create "60 jobs".

For crying out loud.......

Oh well, at least it gives me another excuse to show the hottt Google chick again: