Intel Corporation, the city of Hillsboro and Washington County say they’ve negotiated a deal that would pave the way for the tech company to invest up to $100 billion in the county.

The proposed agreement would give the company property tax breaks for the next three decades on new multi-million dollar equipment used as part of its manufacturing process.

Washington County Board of Commissioners will hear about the proposal at a meeting Tuesday morning.

Jerry Willey, the mayor of Hillsboro, says he supports the plan.



“It’s not that we are giving away money,” he says. “We feel that these type of agreements actually stimulate growth in our economy and stimulate tax revenues.”

Willey says Intel pays full property taxes.

“Where the abatement is applied is the equipment they put inside the buildings,” which he says the company replaces every two to five years. “It’s very difficult for a company to pay full personal property tax rates on equipment that has a life of two to five years and so that’s why where some consideration for that.”

Washington County Commissioner Roy Rogers says Intel approached the county about the tax break and that negotiations have been going on for the last three to four months.

Rogers acknowledged that there would be smaller revenues for the county, but says it’s better than the alternative.

“If they decided to remove their operations there would be no taxes at all,” says Rogers.

A public hearing will follow on August 26 where the board of commissioners and the Hillsboro city council will consider the proposal.

According to a release announcing the deal, state law requires the Oregon Business Development Commission to approve the plan before it could go into effect.

Governor John Kitzhaber issued a statement in support of the proposal calling it a “historic investment that makes our state a global leader in high tech manufacturing.”

Intel employs more than 17,000 people in Washington County.