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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Alexion Pharmaceuticals’ $150 Million Investment At Smithfield, Rhode Island Plant, Qualifies For State Job Creation Tax Credits

10/26/2012
Alexion Pharmaceuticals, a global biopharmaceuticals company, purchased its Smithfield, Rhode Island, biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in 2006. During that time the company invested more than $150 million in renovations and retrofitting to bring the plant up to state-of-the-art standards for manufacturing and quality, creating 194 high-paying jobs, the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation said.

As a result of the firm's job creation efforts, the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors recently approved a reduction of the corporate income tax rate for Alexion, based on the company's addition of 194 jobs, under the state's Jobs Development Act. The tax benefit puts Rhode Island in a competitive position as Alexion considers its future growth plans.

"My administration is committed to using the state's economic development tools to support existing Rhode Island businesses and help them grow and create jobs," Governor Lincoln D. Chafee said. "By encouraging employment growth through targeted tax programs for proven companies, such as Alexion, we can help businesses to continue to invest in quality jobs in the state and better compete for new economic opportunities in the New England market."

"We are thankful that Alexion is now able to receive the same income tax benefit available to other companies driving job growth. This is a positive step to making Rhode Island competitive with neighboring states," said Irving Adler, Executive Director of Corporate Communication of Alexion. "We look forward to working with Governor Chafee on initiatives that continue to make Rhode Island even more attractive to innovative companies committed to employment and development here in the state."

Rhode Island Economic Development officials said Alexion grew from 13 full-time employees in Rhode Island in 2006 to 113 in 2009 with a median annual salary of $75,000. With 92 of those 100 new jobs meeting the JDA qualifying requirements within a three-year period, the company became eligible for a corporate income tax rate reduction.

Alexion paid the minimum corporate tax payment of $500 for tax years 2007, 2008, and 2009. Tax payments cannot decline from this level by qualifying for a corporate tax rate reduction under the JDA. It is estimated that job growth at Alexion between 2006 and 2009 resulted in $258,000 in new state personal income tax revenue. The RIEDC's economic impact analysis finds that Alexion's corporate tax rate reduction has a positive net fiscal impact for the state, state officials concluded.

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