Plan proposes tax break for carmakers, suppliers

It would be the second bill aimed at the industry this year.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- The Ohio Senate wants to give carmakers and their suppliers a break on their electric utility taxes, with the goal of saving jobs in the troubled industry, Senate President Bill Harris said Thursday.
Ohio is home to dozens of plants for Daimler-Chrysler, Ford and General Motors as well as Honda of America. GM has announced plans to eliminate the third shift at its Moraine plant in suburban Dayton, a move that affects 1,050 workers.
The automakers also keep thousands working for suppliers, such as Delphi Corp., the nation's largest. Delphi, which employs 13,000 workers in Ohio, filed for bankruptcy protection in October.
Harris' plan would provide credits on the state's electric kilowatt-hour tax, a 4 percent surcharge on businesses' electric bills. No bill has been introduced, and Harris said he did not know how much money it would cost the state or how many companies might be eligible.
"The industry provides one of every six jobs in the state. We need the auto industry in Ohio thriving very effectively," Harris said.
It would be the second bill aimed at the industry since its fortunes worsened this year.
The Ohio House is debating a bill that would lower the threshold for suppliers and manufacturers to qualify for the Job Retention Tax Credit program. That bill could mean more than $100 million in incentives for the industry.
Qualifications
To get the tax credit, a company must invest at least $200 million at a single project site, or $100 million if the wage rate of the retained jobs is at least four times the minimum wage.
The legislation would reduce that to $125 million for auto-related companies at their collective Ohio sites with the wage rate being at least three times the minimum wage.
The companies must employ at least 7,500 workers in Ohio and would have to retain a majority of their work force at any given site to qualify.
House Speaker Jon Husted, a suburban Dayton Republican, was not familiar with Harris' plan but would welcome a discussion of it, said Scott Borgemenke, Husted's chief of staff.
"This is an industry that's important to Ohio and important to this country. It is hemorrhaging terribly," Borgemenke said. "We need to try to put our best foot forward."
The effect on the industry cannot be determined until more about the plan is known, said Sam Randazzo, a lobbyist for Industrial Energy Users-Ohio.
"It's wait and see what they do. The tax structure that applies to energy in this state ... tends to put Ohio at a disadvantage. The subject certainly is worth attention," Randazzo said.