In a nutshell
Following approval from the commissioner's court at a Dec. 9 meeting, Bastrop County Judge Gregory Klaus sent a letter of support to the Foreign Trade Zones of Central Texas to encourage officials to grant SpaceX an FTZ designation.
What it means
Klaus said this would exempt the company from paying ad valorem, or inventory taxes, on imported inventory and inventory held for export at the facility, located at 858 FM 1209 in Bastrop.
Why it matters
In a document submitted to the court by Precinct 4 Commissioner David Glass, the FTZ designation would help SpaceX streamline the overall receiving, production, and shipping processes to grow. In turn, this would improve the company’s job security and creation, infrastructure investment and development, and increased production capacity and product sales, he said.
Notable quote
“Right now, they’ve got about 900 employees out there,” Glass said during the meeting. “By the end of next year, they may have 1,200-1,500 employees. I think their tax base is around $900 million currently. So, they’ve been a great community company to come to Bastrop County and a great resource for us.”
