Source: Tom Johnston, MEATINGPLACE, 10/6/16


City and county officials in Wilkesboro, N.C., this week approved separate agreements awarding Tyson Foods nearly $650,000 in tax reimbursements to support the company’s $14 million expansion of its local cooked product plant, according to a report by the Wilkes Journal-Patriot.

Tyson will be paid back 80 percent of county and city property taxes it pays annually over a five-year period. The county will return $75,040 each year in 2018 through 2022, and the city will return $53,760 each year in that period, the newspaper reported.

After that, the town and county will keep all of Tyson’s taxes on the plant.

In a statement emailed to Meatingplace, Drew McGee, senior vice president of raw poultry for Tyson Foods, said, “We’re very pleased the Wilkesboro Town Council and the Wilkes County commissioners have approved tax abatements so we can make a $14 million capital investment in  our operations there. We have a great and dedicated workforce in our Wilkesboro operations, and this project will help us grow the team by as many as 75 people. We like doing business in North Carolina and appreciate everything the city of Wilkesboro, the county and the state have done to help us grow our business there.”

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