New Jersey Tries To Lure Mars Wrigley From Chicago With Tax Break

NEWARK, NJ — Will candy manufacturing giant Mars Wrigley be expanding in New Jersey? The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) is dangling a $31 million tax break in front of company executives to try and make it happen, reports say.

Earlier this week, Mars Wrigley Confectionery, which makes products such as M&Ms, Snickers, Juicy Fruit and Life Savers, was approved for an annual tax credit package worth $3.15 million for a 10-year term if it makes a $42 million capital investment in a leased office complex about a half-mile from Newark Penn Station, NJ.com reported.

Mars Wrigley, which currently has facilities in Hackettstown, New Jersey, and Chicago, Illinois, would move 113 jobs from Chicago and 370 jobs from Hackettstown to Newark as part of the deal.

The multi-million dollar offer was made under the auspices of the NJEDA’s Grow New Jersey Assistance Program, which offers yearly tax credits to companies that “create or retain jobs” in New Jersey.

On Tuesday, the NJEDA also approved a separate-but-related tax break package for Mars Wrigley to move 92 jobs from Chicago to Hackettstown, where the company is considering an additional $52 million upgrade at the existing facility. That tax break package is worth $1.1 million annually over a 10-year period, the Chicago Tribune reported.

“If the state of New Jersey approves our recent incentives application we hope to create offices in both Hackettstown and Newark in 2020," a Mars Wrigley spokeswoman told NJ Advance Media on Monday, a day before the NJEDA approved the tax break package.

• See related article: Mars Wrigley Could Move From Chicago To New Jersey

While the expansions in Newark and Hackettstown would be a boon to New Jersey, they wouldn’t come without a price for those that the candy manufacturing giant leaves behind in Chicago.

The company is a “major contributor” to Chicago’s food industry ecosystem, according to a spokesman for Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office, who added that the city is “working closely with the company, across its many business lines, to continue to increase its presence in Chicago.”

NEW JERSEY AND CORPORATE TAX BREAKS

The NJEDA has recently faced criticism from some local groups such as the New Jersey Policy Perspective, which estimates that the state agency has given out more than $8 billion in special tax breaks since January 2010, creating a long-term economic drag which may linger for the next 15 years as the backlog of credits are paid out.

• See related article: Should New Sports Stadiums Get Federal Tax Breaks?

"New Jersey has pledged billions of dollars to a few hundred corporations in a misguided attempt to make the state 'competitive,' while largely ignoring the assets - like our public schools, transit systems and research universities - that can actually give New Jersey an edge in today's global economy," Jon Whiten, NJPP vice president said in October.

• See related article: New Jersey Keeps Doling Out Huge Tax Breaks To Corporations

In October, state officials announced an effort to enter a bid for Amazon’s new headquarters. As part of their pitch, the NJEDA offered Amazon tax incentives that could reach $5 billion over 10 years if the company moves to Newark.

• See related article: Race To The Bottom: NJ's Quest For Amazon HQ Is 'Insane,' Critics Say

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