[Allpar News System]

Tennessee state officials are trying to make a case for selecting the Volunteer State for the the world headquarters of the new company that will be formed by the merger of Chrysler Group and Fiat SpA. Marchionne met with Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and others on Sunday when he was in town for a ceremony marking the expansion of the Magneti Marelli components plant in Pulaski. A local radio station, WPLN-FM, reports that Marchionne commented that the officials had been "working me over pretty well." When he rhetorically asked where those assembled for the ribbon cutting where they would prefer the headquarters to be, Governor Haslam said: "I vote right here." Pulaski is a city of less than 8,000 in southern Tennessee, about 75 miles south of Nashville. The county seat of Giles County, it's best-known as the birthplace of the Ku Klux Klan following the Civil War. Tennessee..

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[W Bohannon]

Let's hear it for the Volunteer state! Now wouldn't that knock your hat in the creek! :1st:

 

[Erik Latranyi]

I love competition!

 

[TripleT]

No State income tax or is it just really low there.

 

[valiant67]

No State income tax or is it just really low there.

I've been out of the tax business for a while, but I think Tennessee doesn't tax earned income just interest and dividends.

 

[PCRMike]

No income tax here. Cost of living is VERY low. VERY low. Having lived in MI, HI, AR, and TN, I would take TN over any of them. And VERY little government interference in your life. You do not have to have a permit from city hall for everything.

 

[normtest]

Also the sixth highest infant mortality rate in the US, high rates of substance abuse and obesity, unusually high rates of diabetes, and poor educational systems, if being the 47th state out of 50 in ACT scores is any indicator. Tennessee is one of the bottom states in teacher pay, too.

The choice was made to have a low cost of living at the cost of government services such as education and medical coverage.

I don't think Tennessee is a valid choice for a Chrysler headquarters, assuming it's more than symbolic, in which case there are probably closer states that would give Chrysler a similar deal. For marketing, a symbolic HQ in Detroit and tax headquarters in the United Kingdom makes more sense.

If you want to race to the bottom, the UK is a winner; it only taxes companies on income made within their country.

 

[MoparNorm]

A few observations;
Management is obviously thinking out loud about moving the HQ to the US.
Regardless of how much Chrysler manufacturing is done in TN, it's obviously much more business friendly than Michigan.
If they are considering the Netherlands, which has zero Chrysler presence, they could consider any location.
The time to select is very close.
This was likely a trail ballon to gauge reaction from both Italy and Michigan.

 

[M.O.D.]

My $2-worth input is:

HQ of Fiat-Chrysler or Whatever it Will Be Called Corporation [FCWWBCC] will most likely be in a large Nort-American City. My money is on New York. With a tax HQ in London or Amsterdam or Zurich.

Regional (Operational) HQs will remain in Detroit, Turin, Brazil, India, China

Regardless, will make VERY LITTLE difference on the way the company goes about designing, engineering and making motor vehicles.

 

[PCRMike]

The choice was made to have a low cost of living at the cost of government services such as education and medical coverage.

Not to mention freedom in so many ways. No tailpipe sniffers, no bureaucrats nosing around in our business constantly, fresh clean water, and other things that would not matter to a large corporation. It does have high rates of obesity, and diabetes, both largely due to the fact of poor diets and laziness. Public school scores are one thing, but my kids get a fantastic education (albeit not in public schools). True, we have dangerous animals in the wild here too, like brown recluse spiders, copperheads, coyotes, foxes, and on and on. A location like the one I am talking about for making things (not an HQ) is perfect for this type of work.

 

[55Plaza]

Hmmm Chrysler Tech Center in Auburn Hills is only 35 miles from the Chrysler Centre in Windsor.

 

[dakrt99]

They need to stay in Detroit.

 

[Mike V.]

They need to stay in Detroit.

Chrysler itself can and will stay in the Detroit area.

The main merged corporate can be addressed anywhere in the world depending on how the organization is run.

Only time will tell, but there is no reason to move the bulk of Chrysler from the Detroit area.

Mike

 

[MoparNorm]

They need to stay in Detroit.

We're talking about the new entity that now exists nowhere.
They would gain a lot of goodwill by placing the new HQ in the US.
They can save millions by utilizing a location with favorable taxes.

 

[normtest]

"Public school scores are one thing, but my kids get a fantastic education (albeit not in public schools)."

Obviously, because they would get NO education in the public schools.

OK. So if you have the money and/or time for your own medical system and health system and a small arsenal of weaponry, it's a great state!

You know where it's even cheaper to live? Mexico!

Seriously, it's good that some states are living the libertarian dream, so people can make choices about how to live their lives. Do you choose freedom from government (and education and medical care), or swap an educated, healthy citizenry for a bit more intrusion?

 

[Mike V.]

We're talking about the new entity that now exists nowhere.
They would gain a lot of goodwill by placing the new HQ in the US.
They can save millions by utilizing a location with favorable taxes.

Yup!

 

[Dave Z]

If we can end the specific to Tennessee discussion, I think what happened here was that state officials took an opportunity to annoy -- I mean lobby Sergio.

I don't think Tennessee is a good location for Chrysler’s headquarters. It’s not like Nissan, which is a foreign company anyway. It’s not convenient for anything but a tax haven, and there are probably easier ways to not pay taxes.

If you think Michigan or Ontario would not give Chrysler a tax exemption for x years, in return for moving in more jobs...

 

[PCRMike]

I agree the HQ should stay in Detroit, but I would LOVE to see some manufacturing come our way. Can't fault me for that.

 

[superduckie5000]

Someone Should Call the Michigan Gov.

And Give Him a Little Hint!

TMD