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Nevada board endorses $89M tax cut for Apple data center

The Nevada Board of Economic Development on Wednesday green-lit plans to grant Apple $89 million in tax cuts for a proposed data center and accompanying buildings in downtown Reno and the town of Sparks.

The gesture is considered to be largely for show, reports the Associated Press, as the body does not have the authority to change the deal first reported in June. A law approved in 2011 gave the NBED's executive director the power to broker deals that meet certain predefined requirements.

"If we had not implemented that statute we would not have Apple here," said head of the Governor's Office of Economic Develepment Steve Hill.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval dubbed the Apple deal a "win" for the state as the data center build-out may foster increased interest from other companies looking to expand.

Negotiations first began in February and ended with Apple getting an $89 million tax break which includes an 85 percent reduction in property taxes for 10 to 30 years. Estimates put the Cupertino-based company's effective tax rate to be less than one percent.

In return for the substantial leniency, Apple's project is expected to bring in $343 million while tax revenue will net local and state governments $16 million over the next ten years.

Reno Technology Park construction will create about 580 jobs and inject $103 million into the local economy. Apple's data center will take up 1.5 million square feet of space and will go online later this year.