GE may move its HQ after Connecticut passed state corporate tax increases.

[SoonerDave]

Cry me a river. It would be nice if these so called "corporations are people" paid in taxes what real people do.

Wonder how much $ in payroll, health insurance, and employee savings they inject into the economy?

Just curious.

[gopokes88]

What you are doing is deftly changing the argument that GE is full of it when claiming to be overtaxed. When it is shown that GE is engaged in hypocritical whining about being overtaxed, you become a corporate apologist claiming "you would do it to if you had their advantages". What I would do or would not do, does not shield GE from being called out for a hypocritical argument. Instead of calling me a whiner, refute the claim that GE is in fact not avoiding taxes is in fact paying more than they should and as a consequence must flee their oppressors.

GE is a company. Paying $1 in taxes is being overtaxed in their eyes. They are very good at what they do and guess what? It results in them not having to pay a huge tax burden. They cry poor, lobby, and hire expensive lawyers to find loop holes. Do you have like 0 experience with business people? This is what we do.

You are complaining that a massive company with revenues in the hundreds of billions is behaving exactly like a massive company behaves. Do you scream and yell at your dog for barking? No he's a dog that's what he does. GE avoids taxes because that's what they do. That's what every company and individual on the face of the earth does. You do it too. So yes, it hypocritical to complain GE avoids taxes when you do it as well. Some of the most liberal people I know hire republican tax accountants. Why? Because no one wants to pay more then they have to. GE is just brilliant at doing it.

The real fault lies with the government. They have the power to tax and if they want more tax revenue they should exercise said power if they want more money. Asking GE to pay more is ludicrous.

[Just the facts]

That last paragraph is exactly what Connecticut did. Like it or not, Oklahoma is going to have do it pretty soon as well.

[zookeeper]

GE is a company. Paying $1 in taxes is being overtaxed in their eyes. They are very good at what they do and guess what? It results in them not having to pay a huge tax burden. They cry poor, lobby, and hire expensive lawyers to find loop holes. Do you have like 0 experience with business people? This is what we do.

You are complaining that a massive company with revenues in the hundreds of billions is behaving exactly like a massive company behaves. Do you scream and yell at your dog for barking? No he's a dog that's what he does. GE avoids taxes because that's what they do. That's what every company and individual on the face of the earth does. You do it too. So yes, it hypocritical to complain GE avoids taxes when you do it as well. Some of the most liberal people I know hire republican tax accountants. Why? Because no one wants to pay more then they have to. GE is just brilliant at doing it.

The real fault lies with the government. They have the power to tax and if they want more tax revenue they should exercise said power if they want more money. Asking GE to pay more is ludicrous.

What did Connecticut do to cause the uproar? Exactly what you said they should do. Also, your views on business (while thinking others are naive) are, frankly, way off the mark. Research corporate charters and get back with me. You are young. A lot of your type thinking is spilling out of business schools from conservative universities. It's not capitalism at all, it's corporatocracy. And there's a big difference.

Wonder how much $ in payroll, health insurance, and employee savings they inject into the economy?

Just curious.

I don't know and it really doesn't matter. It has nothing to do with the issue of this thread. My charity work, all the spending I do during any given year, and what a great citizen I am has nothing to do with what I owe in taxes. Nothing. To confuse the issue is the only answer to this kind of corporate thuggery ala GE in Connecticut. Before someone says that "thuggery" is incendiary, etc. - nope - it's exactly what it is.

[ou48A]

Rather they land GE or not Texas is still getting it done right because they simply choose to do what is necessary to build the opportunity and the wealth that improve the lives of their citizens in good way! We need to move in that direction too in Oklahoma.

Texas shows us what it takes to be truly competitive in today’s business environment.

Please read the entire article on the link.

Report: Texas looking to lasso General Electric's headquarters - Dallas Business Journal

It appears Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has thrown the Lone Star state's hat into the ring as a suitor for the headquarters of Connecticut-based General Electric, according to a report by Hearst Connecticut Media Group.

The news group obtained a one-page letter Abbott reportedly sent to General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt promising the company a smaller tax bill and lots of economic incentives.

In the letter, Abbott said he was sure governors throughout the United States were writing similar letters to Immelt after he spoke openly about his displeasure with Connecticut's proposed $700 million increase in taxes on businesses over the next two years.

"But how many of my colleagues just passed a total relief tax package of $3.8 billion like we did last week in Texas,"

[Just the facts]

The funding short fall and excessive debt compiled by Texas and its State agencies is well documented ($328 billion and counting). When that tree falls it is going to make one serious thud and Texas will have to do what Connecticut just did - raise taxes on those not paying any.

[gopokes88]

What did Connecticut do to cause the uproar? Exactly what you said they should do. Also, your views on business (while thinking others are naive) are, frankly, way off the mark. Research corporate charters and get back with me. You are young. A lot of your type thinking is spilling out of business schools from conservative universities. It's not capitalism at all, it's corporatocracy. And there's a big difference.



I don't know and it really doesn't matter. It has nothing to do with the issue of this thread. My charity work, all the spending I do during any given year, and what a great citizen I am has nothing to do with what I owe in taxes. Nothing. To confuse the issue is the only answer to this kind of corporate thuggery ala GE in Connecticut. Before someone says that "thuggery" is incendiary, etc. - nope - it's exactly what it is.

They raised taxes and GE threatened to leave. Once again, that's pretty predictable behavior. When states have to compete with each other for companies, having a lower tax rate is attractive. (It is not the only factor, and sometimes isn't even a factor) So maybe a state with 3.5 million people should try to figure out a way to spend less then $20,000,000,000. That's almost 3X the size of Oklahoma's state government with a slightly smaller population.

Oh so instead of attacking the message, attack the messenger. Good work Saul Alinsky.

I never once mentioned capitalism. In a pure capitalistic libertarian utopia, large companies aren't allowed to hire a lobbyist to get congress to rewrite the tax code for them. That's not the world we live in though. And since it's legal, GE is going to do it. None of this behavior is shocking. Companies like to avoid taxes, it's what they do it's who they are. They aren't thugs they are behaving exactly like they're supposed too and always have.

If the government wants more revenue they can raise taxes, close loopholes, and limit deductions.

[zookeeper]

They raised taxes and GE threatened to leave. Once again, that's pretty predictable behavior. When states have to compete with each other for companies, having a lower tax rate is attractive. (It is not the only factor, and sometimes isn't even a factor) So maybe a state with 3.5 million people should try to figure out a way to spend less then $20,000,000,000. That's almost 3X the size of Oklahoma's state government with a slightly smaller population.

Oh so instead of attacking the message, attack the messenger. Good work Saul Alinsky.

I never once mentioned capitalism. In a pure capitalistic libertarian utopia, large companies aren't allowed to hire a lobbyist to get congress to rewrite the tax code for them. That's not the world we live in though. And since it's legal, GE is going to do it. None of this behavior is shocking. Companies like to avoid taxes, it's what they do it's who they are. They aren't thugs they are behaving exactly like they're supposed too and always have.

If the government wants more revenue they can raise taxes, close loopholes, and limit deductions.

I wasn't attacking you in a personal way, simply the fact you are young and we all know that conservative universities are, in fact, teaching what we considered "John Bircher" type economics in the 60's and 70's. Call it what you want. Maybe "unbridled capitalism," but I said it because of your posts that approve of corporations doing whatever they have to do to make (more) money. "That's the law - if they don't like it change it." That attitude right there is corporate power swinging its power and pushing the envelope, almost begging or baiting for more regulation. Then they have more to blame on their regulators. It's an old game, but it's become mainstream and your posts reflect that ultra pro-corporate attitude. Avoiding taxes is not "what they do." You DO realize that still, today, in 2015 the corporate charter, issued by the states, is the legal document that allows them to operate as a corporation. It's not a right - it's a responsibility that includes being a good corporate citizen. The language in those are at odds with your thinking and it's time to put the brakes on the corporatocracy run wild.

By the way, you wrote: "Oh so instead of attacking the message, attack the messenger. Good work Saul Alinsky." That IS a personal attack. I didn't compare you to any people with controversial lives. Think what I could do.

[ou48A]

The funding short fall and excessive debt compiled by Texas and its State agencies is well documented ($328 billion and counting). When that tree falls it is going to make one serious thud and Texas will have to do what Connecticut just did - raise taxes on those not paying any.

Their high growth rates and increasing severance tax will help Texas pay down its debt….. But Texas is trying to do something that you and many others here have screamed about all the time ….. Diversify its economy …. Doing so requires effort and smart debt….They are showing us how it’s done in today's world…We should be paying close attention.
With such cheap interest rates what they are doing will pay off many times over in the coming decades.

[ou48A]

They raised taxes and GE threatened to leave. Once again, that's pretty predictable behavior. When states have to compete with each other for companies, having a lower tax rate is attractive. (It is not the only factor, and sometimes isn't even a factor) So maybe a state with 3.5 million people should try to figure out a way to spend less then $20,000,000,000. That's almost 3X the size of Oklahoma's state government with a slightly smaller population.

Oh so instead of attacking the message, attack the messenger. Good work Saul Alinsky.

I never once mentioned capitalism. In a pure capitalistic libertarian utopia, large companies aren't allowed to hire a lobbyist to get congress to rewrite the tax code for them. That's not the world we live in though. And since it's legal, GE is going to do it. None of this behavior is shocking. Companies like to avoid taxes, it's what they do it's who they are. They aren't thugs they are behaving exactly like they're supposed too and always have.

If the government wants more revenue they can raise taxes, close loopholes, and limit deductions.

Companies do like to avoid taxes but there is something else in play…. CEO’s and other high ranking officials like avoiding state income taxes…. It makes their decision to move a lot easier.

I have a sister in law who once worked on economic development in the north Texas area and helped recruit and broker deals to bring large corporations to the Dallas area. XOM was one of her success. But from talking to her in depth it’s pretty clear that we don’t do enough in Oklahoma to be attractive to corporations and their new high wage jobs.

It starts IMHO with the lack of resources that we spend at our universities on educating people in the various sciences. If we don’t invest in our own intellectual capital it just moves elsewhere on its own!

[zookeeper]

Their high growth rates and increasing severance tax will help Texas pay down its debt….. But Texas is trying to do something that you and many others here have screamed about all the time ….. Diversify its economy …. Doing so requires effort and smart debt….They are showing us how it’s done in today's world…We should be paying close attention.
With such cheap interest rates what they are doing will pay off many times over in the coming decades.

Tell that to our legislators. All they want to do is cut, cut, and cut some more.

[Just the facts]

Their high growth rates and increasing severance tax will help Texas pay down its debt….. But Texas is trying to do something that you and many others here have screamed about all the time ….. Diversify its economy …. Doing so requires effort and smart debt….They are showing us how it’s done in today's world…We should be paying close attention.
With such cheap interest rates what they are doing will pay off many times over in the coming decades.

So you are under the assumption that at some point Texas will have all of their infrastructure in place and will be swimming in so much tax money that they can not only meet all their funding needs at that time, but also run a $320 million surplus to pay off their debt? That sounds like the logic used by compulsive gamblers (and the Federal government)

[mugofbeer]

So you are under the assumption that at some point Texas will have all of their infrastructure in place and will be swimming in so much tax money that they can not only meet all their funding needs at that time, but also run a $320 million surplus to pay off their debt? That sounds like the logic used by compulsive gamblers (and the Federal government)

You assume this is a no growth situation with Texas. They borrowed billions at virtually zero interest to invest in infrastructure which was a brilliant move. The big 4 cities of Texas have announces tens of thousands of new jobs. Just look at Plano-Frisco alone in N. Texas. A total transformation is about to happen. Toyota, State Farm, Lincoln National and Fed Ex all have announced multi-thousand hiring expansions. Ft. Worth has large announcements, there is a whole thread about Austin Hi Tech boom and Houston will come on again shortly - especially if oil exports are approved. Debt is not to be feared when it spurs private investment, such as in Texas. Debt is an evil ticking time bomb when it is thrown at politically correct causes and economically unfeasible pies-in-sky fantasies and not used to spur reasonable investment the way the Fed has done it. 30 years from now, Durant and Ardmore may be outer exurbs of Dallas-Fort Worth.

[Plutonic Panda]

You assume this is a no growth situation with Texas. They borrowed billions at virtually zero interest to invest in infrastructure which was a brilliant move. The big 4 cities of Texas have announces tens of thousands of new jobs. Just look at Plano-Frisco alone in N. Texas. A total transformation is about to happen. Toyota, State Farm, Lincoln National and Fed Ex all have announced multi-thousand hiring expansions. Ft. Worth has large announcements, there is a whole thread about Austin Hi Tech boom and Houston will come on again shortly - especially if oil exports are approved. Debt is not to be feared when it spurs private investment, such as in Texas. Debt is an evil ticking time bomb when it is thrown at politically correct causes and economically unfeasible pies-in-sky fantasies and not used to spur reasonable investment the way the Fed has done it. 30 years from now, Durant and Ardmore may be outer exurbs of Dallas-Fort Worth.

+1. Also note Facebook is opening a data center in Fortworth.

[mugofbeer]

GE is a company. Paying $1 in taxes is being overtaxed in their eyes. They are very good at what they do and guess what? It results in them not having to pay a huge tax burden. They cry poor, lobby, and hire expensive lawyers to find loop holes. Do you have like 0 experience with business people? This is what we do.

You are complaining that a massive company with revenues in the hundreds of billions is behaving exactly like a massive company behaves. Do you scream and yell at your dog for barking? No he's a dog that's what he does. GE avoids taxes because that's what they do. That's what every company and individual on the face of the earth does. You do it too. So yes, it hypocritical to complain GE avoids taxes when you do it as well. Some of the most liberal people I know hire republican tax accountants. Why? Because no one wants to pay more then they have to. GE is just brilliant at doing it.

The real fault lies with the government. They have the power to tax and if they want more tax revenue they should exercise said power if they want more money. Asking GE to pay more is ludicrous.

What you say here is spot on. The fiduciary responsibility of a publicly traded company is to reasonably maximize profits. If CT raises their state tax rate to, say, 5%, while TX has 0%, then the board of directors must explore a move. Businesses aren't in business to pay taxes (research corporate charters). GoPokes is also spot on with his observation that CTs state budget is approximately 3x that of OK though our populations are comperable and despite OK being 14x the size of CT. While i wish OK spent more on higher quality education and roads, perhaps CT needs to do some significant cutting. Even when the Federal Government tries to raise corporate tax rates, corporations can simply move overseas. GE simply manages taxes the way individuals do. They minimize them.

[Just the facts]

Yes, but thanks to the incentives, those jobs aren't producing taxes to pay off the debt they borrowed to create the job. You know, it's not like Texas just started doing this. They have been doing it for 30 years and they have a bigger debt than ever. When does they payoff come?

All that awesome growth is fueled by debt, and they aren't collecting the taxes necessary to pay it off. At some point they will have to start taxing these companies and then what? Answer, GE moves to Arizona and Texas is left holding the bag - just like a lot companies do in Oklahoma just as soon as Quality Jobs money goes away.

[Just the facts]

I'll just leave this here for anyone who wants to read it.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2012/12/03...=all&referrer=

[zookeeper]

What you say here is spot on. The fiduciary responsibility of a publicly traded company is to reasonably maximize profits. If CT raises their state tax rate to, say, 5%, while TX has 0%, then the board of directors must explore a move. Businesses aren't in business to pay taxes (research corporate charters). GoPokes is also spot on with his observation that CTs state budget is approximately 3x that of OK though our populations are comperable and despite OK being 14x the size of CT. While i wish OK spent more on higher quality education and roads, perhaps CT needs to do some significant cutting. Even when the Federal Government tries to raise corporate tax rates, corporations can simply move overseas. GE simply manages taxes the way individuals do. They minimize them.

,

This may come as a surprise to you, Mug, but this "fiduciary duty" or "responsibility to shareholders" we always hear about? It's a myth. There is no such thing.

Maximizing Shareholder Value: The Goal That Changed Corporate America - The Washington Post

"The belief that shareholders come first is not codified by statute. Rather, it was introduced by a handful of free-market academics in the 1970s and then picked up by business leaders and the media until it became an oft-repeated mantra in the corporate world."

The Shareholder Wealth Maximization Myth - Truth On The Market

"The only constraint on board decision making is a pair of duties – the “duty of care” and the “duty of loyalty.” The duty of care requires boards to be well informed and to make deliberate decisions after careful consideration of the issues. Importantly, board members are entitled to rely on experts and corporate officers for their information, can easily comply with duty of care obligations by spending shareholder money on lawyers and process, and, in any event, are routinely indemnified against damages for any breaches of this duty. The duty of loyalty self evidently requires board members to put the interests of the corporation ahead of their own personal interest."


The Cult of Shareholder Value Has Wrecked American Business - The Washington Post

"There are no statutes that put the shareholder at the top of the corporate priority list...Nor does the law require, as many believe, that executives and directors owe a special fiduciary duty to shareholders."


Article by Connecticut School of Law Professor at Medium

"The specific fiduciary duties of corporate directors, like much of the law, are not written down in any statute..."


Mug, There are answers for everything you and gopokes88 have written. But, I'll just start with the above so we can move along.

[Just the facts]

Zookeeper- have you read Impulse Society? If not, add it to your reading list. Sadly, the same group of people chanting "Take our country back" turn around and support the very activity that is breaking it apart - and they don't even see it.

[zookeeper]

Zookeeper- have you read Impulse Society? If not, add it to your reading list. Sadly, the same group of people chanting "Take our country back" turn around and support the very activity that is breaking it apart - and they don't even see it.

On the list! Thanks, as always.

[Spartan]

GE will probably move their HQ somewhere that provides them the quality workforce of CT with slightly lower taxes. They already have a MAJOR presence in Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Louisville.

The GE Lighting HQ in East Cleve is stunning... Though Cincinnati would make a lot of sense for them.

[mugofbeer]

To JTF - providing a 3 year old article from a newspaper in a state that is losing jobs to Texas is hardly proof of anything. Did you honestly tell me that the people taking the thousands of jobs arent paying taxes -- and therefore arent helping to service the debt load? What planet have you gone to? The COMPANIES are getting the tax breaks, not the employees. The employees are spending money and paying some of the highest sales taxes in the country. They are building and buying houses and paying property taxes 3x what i pay in CO. i can dispute a NYT article because all you have to do is use your eyes and see the prosperity there. There is a fraction of the normal housing inventory for sale. There are billion dollar construction and development projects across the state - most of which DO pay property taxes. Construction cranes are all over DFW for privately financed development and RE-development abounds in the large cities. At the same time, the cost of living remains low compared to most of the country. You can deny it all you want, but all you have to do is use your eyes. Is TX perfect? No. They could have spent more money on education. Most of their school financing problems come from state law embeded in their constitution and the simple fact TX is physically enormous. Working in the financial biz, i can tell you no one seems to have a problem with the quality and safety of their bonds. I'll believe the markets far more easily than a NYTiimes writer.

[mugofbeer]

To Zookeeper: you can find articles to say anything. Sure there are poorly run companies. The average life of a company that hits the stock market is about 4 years. Companies who are well run rise to the top. Whether it is written in statute or not, a company won't thrive the way GE has by "getting along." Their BOD has generally done a fair job but has been guilty of holding assets in industries that are no longer providing high growth. They are actively shedding divisions that dont contribute enough to the bottom line such as financial and home appliances. If they dont react, they stagnate and GE was starting to stagnate. Again' you can provide all the articles you want but all you have to do is use your own eyes and use common sense to see this is a prudent move. Clearly dozens of other firms see it the same way.

[zookeeper]

To Zookeeper: you can find articles to say anything. Sure there are poorly run companies. The average life of a company that hits the stock market is about 4 years. Companies who are well run rise to the top. Whether it is written in statute or not, a company won't thrive the way GE has by "getting along." Their BOD has generally done a fair job but has been guilty of holding assets in industries that are no longer providing high growth. They are actively shedding divisions that dont contribute enough to the bottom line such as financial and home appliances. If they dont react, they stagnate and GE was starting to stagnate. Again' you can provide all the articles you want but all you have to do is use your own eyes and use common sense to see this is a prudent move. Clearly dozens of other firms see it the same way.

What? You stated in your earlier post, passing along the "fiduciary responsibility" myth:

"The fiduciary responsibility of a publicly traded company is to reasonably maximize profits. If CT raises their state tax rate to, say, 5%, while TX has 0%, then the board of directors must explore a move."

That's all I responded to. To show that the "fiduciary duty" myth is a canard used to explain inexplicable behavior. Your response is to say you can find articles that can say anything? Those links clearly laid out the history of how the "fiduciary responsibility" myth got started and how it's not codified or any way laid out as a legal "responsibility." You can't find articles in the Washington Post that say anything, Mug. That's absurd on its face and what's more - you know that. What is the purpose of research and study if there is no fact to refute fiction? No truth to prove a falsity? Your response is to simply say I can find an article that can say anything? You said that corporations have a "fiduciary responsibility" to maximize profits. That's not true. Of course it matters if it's in statutes. The argument keeps getting put forward as an excuse how these poor corporations can't help it, they HAVE to do this and that because they have this fiduciary responsibility.....it's not true!

Reasoning with blind supporters of the corporatocracy is incredibly frustrating. You said you are in the financial industry, which makes you a part of the pushing paper to make more money to get more fake paper to sell at a ridiculous interest rates (when you get it almost free), on and on. Your industry is part of the problem and has no place at the table to discuss righting this ship of state that finance capital has caused. They claim that the law forces them to do these things and then when shown there isn't actually a law, they do exactly what you did. Change the subject. In your case, you claim that somehow there is no real truth and the articles I posted are suspect because "you can find articles that say anything." There's a term for that: Intellectual dishonesty. Something easily learned in the financial industry.

[Just the facts]

To JTF - providing a 3 year old article from a newspaper in a state that is losing jobs to Texas is hardly proof of anything. Did you honestly tell me that the people taking the thousands of jobs arent paying taxes -- and therefore arent helping to service the debt load? What planet have you gone to? The COMPANIES are getting the tax breaks, not the employees. The employees are spending money and paying some of the highest sales taxes in the country. They are building and buying houses and paying property taxes 3x what i pay in CO. i can dispute a NYT article because all you have to do is use your eyes and see the prosperity there. There is a fraction of the normal housing inventory for sale. There are billion dollar construction and development projects across the state - most of which DO pay property taxes. Construction cranes are all over DFW for privately financed development and RE-development abounds in the large cities. At the same time, the cost of living remains low compared to most of the country. You can deny it all you want, but all you have to do is use your eyes. Is TX perfect? No. They could have spent more money on education. Most of their school financing problems come from state law embeded in their constitution and the simple fact TX is physically enormous. Working in the financial biz, i can tell you no one seems to have a problem with the quality and safety of their bonds. I'll believe the markets far more easily than a NYTiimes writer.

Not only is the State rebating the companies taxes, they are also rebating the EMPLOYEE'S taxes. That is why the size of the rebate is directly related to the payroll dollar amount. Now yes, there will be sales tax collections when employees spend their checks but the fact is from the State and Local government perspective, they are rebating more than they are collecting while still have to provide services to the employees. If incentives are the way to go why doesn't Oklahoma just eliminate business income taxes period across the board for every employer? Just think of the growth that would generate.

Quality Jobs Program - Oklahoma Department of Commerce

This incentive targets manufacturers and certain service industries that have a new payroll investment of $2.5 million or more to receive a quarterly cash payment of up to 5 percent of new taxable payroll. A lower payroll threshold is available for certain food processing and research and development projects, or as a result of locating in targeted areas. Qualifying wage requirements would be the lower of the average county wage or the state index wage. Companies that have 10 percent of their workforce as veterans qualify for a higher 6 percent net benefit rate.

Oklahoma’s 21st Century Quality Jobs offers incentives to businesses with a highly skilled, knowledge-based workforce. For qualifying companies, this unique incentive would pay businesses cash back, up to 10 percent of payroll, for up to ten years for the creation of 10 jobs with high average wage of $94,000 annually or higher, depending on county.

Effective July 1, 2011, Oklahoma aerospace companies hiring engineers receive a tax credit equal to 10% of the compensation paid to an engineer during the first five years of his or her employment depending on the date of hire if the engineer graduated from an Oklahoma college, or a tax credit equal to 5% of the compensation paid to the engineer during the first five years of his or her employment depending on the date of hire if the engineer graduated from a college outside Oklahoma. The maximum credit is $12,500 per qualified employee per year.

In addition, effective July 1, 2011 Oklahoma aerospace companies may receive a tax credit in the amount of 50% of the tuition reimbursed to a new engineer graduate for the first four years of his or her employment depending on the date of hire. The tax credit is limited to 50% of the average annual tuition paid by an engineer at a qualified program at a public university in Oklahoma.

Also, effective July 1, 2011 engineers hired by an Oklahoma aerospace company may also receive an individual tax credit of up to $5,000 per year for a period of 5 years depending on the date of hire