As generous as the offer was, Amazon.com rejected $4 billion in tax incentives to place a second North American headquarters in Detroit and Windsor, Chad Livengood of Crain's Detroit Business reports.
The offer, made by the city of Detroit and state of Michigan, is disclosed Friday by the Michigan Economic Development Corp.
The package was likely the most Michigan ever offered a company, topping $3 billion in subsidies offered last year to Foxconn Technology Group for a manufacturing plant in Michigan. The state offered up to $2 billion in tax incentives for Amazon to put its HQ2 in Grand Rapids.
MEDC originally denied a Freedom of Information Act request by Crain's to release the incentive information, citing a confidentiality agreement the state economic development agency forged with billionaire businessman Dan Gilbert's Bedrock LLC. Gilbert took the lead in the talks with Amazon on behalf of the city of Detroit.
The disclosure policy changed the other day after Michigan Strategic Fund approved a $618 million in breaks for four downtown Detroit projects by Bedrock, part of Gilbert's business network.
