NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — It's a tantalizing proposition: thousands of new, high-paying jobs in Nashville that could add to the economy. But those jobs come at the cost of tax breaks for one of the richest corporations in the world.
As questions remain about the tax money Metro Nashville used to help bring Amazon's Operations Center of Excellence to town, the group Stand Up Nashville is asking for the process to slow down, with questions they'd like both Metro Council and Amazon to answer.
Amazon has said the plan would pump over a billion dollars in tax revenue into Nashville over the next 10 years. In exchange, Amazon got tax breaks from both Nashville and the state.
But the group Stand Up Nashville says more questions need to be asked about those tax deals.
The group wants Metro Council to answer whether Metro could get its tax money back, if amazon doesn't deliver on the jobs they've promised, and how Amazon and the city will help with affordable housing.
And while Metro officials say the jobs Amazon will help create far outweigh the cost of the tax breaks, some are still skeptical about handing Amazon so much money.
"To give the richest corporation in the world $15 million of our tax money, I'm just not sure how that makes sense," said Anne Barnett, co-chair of Stand Up Nashville.
