Canon may lose some tax benefits due to layoffs

Canon USA Inc. may lose some local property tax benefits following layoffs at its Melville, N.Y., according to Newsday. The county’s Industrial Development Agency (IDA), in a letter to a Canon executive obtained by reporter James T. Madore, said the company agreed on Feb. 1 “to create and maintain at all times at the facility: 1,081 full-time equivalent employees.”

Should the number of employees drop below that number, that “will be considered a recapture event,” where the IDA could claw back some of the tax savings received this year by Canon, states the letter from agency attorney William D. Wexler to company executive Amy E. Newman.

As previously reported, Canon USA laid off more than 100 employees, including high-profile camera representative Rudy Winston.  The downsizing occurred just six months after the IDA awarded more tax savings to Canon when it threatened to close the office and have employees work from home permanently. The new aid package totals $7 million over the next 12 years, according to Newsday. In 2007, the company received $100 million in incentives from the county and state to build the $500 million office instead of moving out of state.