Other New England cities can avoid future grief if they draw the obvious conclusion from this week’s announcement by the drug company
Pfizer got a sweetheart deal from New London eight years ago, paying taxes on only 20 percent of its property’s assessed value, which came out to $1.2 million a year. But with the tax bill jumping to $6.1 million in 2012, and with Pfizer consolidating operations as a result of its acquisition of the pharmaceutical company Wyeth, the drug manufacturer decided to abandon its 750,000-square-foot complex in New London.
If they did a little bit of soul-searching, New London city officials would realize that it is usually a mistake to gamble on the local loyalties of a corporation that operates on an international scale. The city should have obtained a much longer contractual commitment from Pfizer or refused to bestow an 80 percent tax break. The many cities in Massachusetts that are starving for jobs should take caution from New London’s unfortunate example.
