In our best interest? The fight over Internet tax breaks and an Amazon center in South Carolina

Flickr user 30 Lines
This deal's slightly bruised but still seems deliverable.

What's 6%? The difference between $11 million and $2.6 million, or right and wrong, depending on which camp you're in.

If you haven't been following, the scenario is this: Online store giant Amazon pledged to build a distribution center to employ some 1,200 near Cayce in South Carolina's Midlands in exchange for a pledge by South Carolina to not be charged state sales tax for having a "physical presence" in our state. 

And to outgoing Gov. Mark Sanford that made the deal, it apparently seemed pretty straightforward: The state would be giving up an estimated $2.6 million in sales tax collections for an estimated $11 million in payroll and property tax plus the usual "economic impact" bonus of 1,200 jobs.

But when Nikki Haley took the reigns the debate shifted, Haley was supposed to be a small business champion, and here she was aiding a 6% discount to South Carolina business competitors? 

Filed in