By Tom Flanigan
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wfsu/local-wfsu-951555.mp3
Tallahassee, FL – A company that makes hi-tech fuel cells is moving to Florida. Tom Flanigan reports that Bing Energy is relocating from California, partly because of Governor Rick Scott's tax-cut promises.
Bing's Chief Financial Officer Dean Minardi says many other states were wooing his company, but Florida beat them all, mainly because of Scott's pledge to scrap the corporate income tax.
"It's huge! From a business point of view, the simple truth is that the more income a company can keep, the more people it can hire."
Bing plans to hire about two-hundred fifty people to staff its Florida headquarters office and production facilities. Governor Rick Scott was on hand for the Bing announcement at Florida State University's High-Performance Materials Institute. Its research is another reason for Bing's relocation decision and the governor says he wants to see more of those partnerships all over the state.
" making sure our universities team up with the private sector and build jobs. We've seen that done all around the country, we just want to do more and more of it in Florida."
Those new jobs may especially be needed in Tallahassee. Scott's Florida budget includes major cuts for several state agencies. If approved by the legislature that could mean pink slips for thousands of Capital City state workers.