The hits just keep on coming for Montgomery County. Its moribund economy took another cannonball to the gut yesterday. Human BioSciences announced it will be the latest company to move its corporate headquarters out of Montgomery County to a lower-tax jurisdiction in the region. It will move its current HQ from 940 Clopper Road in Gaithersburg to wild, wonderful West Virginia.
The blow is an especially painful one for the County, as the biotech industry is the only bright spot in MoCo's private sector economy. According to the Maryland Department of Labor, all Human BioSciences employees are being offered positions at the new West Virginia facility, meaning that the taxable revenue of any MoCo residents leaving with the company will also be lost to the County's coffers.
It says quite a bit about the state of business in Montgomery County and Maryland that a biotech firm would leave. Remember, the County and State both provide financial incentives and tax breaks to the biotech sector, decisions made decades ago by smarter leaders that allowed for the creation of a strong life sciences presence in the I-270 corridor. In recent years, that strength has begun to weaken. It hasn't been helped when you have the state legislature and Governor Wes Moore wallop firms that are immersed in technology with a new 3% tech tax, as of July 1 this year.
The tech tax is piled on top of the fact that Montgomery County already suffers from the highest tax and fee burden in the region. We've seen the results over this century, as companies like Discovery Communications have fled. Only a week ago, Rocket Money announced it was moving its HQ from Silver Spring to Washington, D.C.
It says quite a bit about the state of business in Montgomery County and Maryland that a biotech firm would leave. Remember, the County and State both provide financial incentives and tax breaks to the biotech sector, decisions made decades ago by smarter leaders that allowed for the creation of a strong life sciences presence in the I-270 corridor. In recent years, that strength has begun to weaken. It hasn't been helped when you have the state legislature and Governor Wes Moore wallop firms that are immersed in technology with a new 3% tech tax, as of July 1 this year.
The tech tax is piled on top of the fact that Montgomery County already suffers from the highest tax and fee burden in the region. We've seen the results over this century, as companies like Discovery Communications have fled. Only a week ago, Rocket Money announced it was moving its HQ from Silver Spring to Washington, D.C.
Meanwhile, Northern Virginia has been cleaning our clock, Hoovering up the corporate HQs of Northrop Grumman, Amazon HQ 2, Nestle, Corporate Executive Board, Hilton Hotels, Lidl, Gerber, Lego, Intelsat, CoStar, Volkswagen, Blackboard, and General Dynamics. This is the direct result of decisions made by failed leaders who have no clue about the world of international business circa 2025. Heckuva job, Brownie!
26 comments:
AstraZeneca this summer opened a $300 Million cell therapy manufacturing facility in MC. Human Bioscience has 40 employees. I think MC is doing OK.
Oh the horror of losing 30 employees to the backwoods of WVA.
FACT: This move is due to a glutton of supply v demand for space in the area, for bioscience biz. There was significant investment in life sciences real estate in Montgomery County. However, many of these new facilities were completed just as demand and funding for biotech companies began to decline.
Funding hurdles: Many prospective tenants faced financial challenges, which reduced the demand for the new lab spaces. And these challenges cannot be remedied through any tax cuts.
Downturn: There is an overall downturn in the industry in the overall biosciences community per the WBJ.
Finally, There's the issue of a particularly wild elephant in the room. The Federal budget cuts: More recently, cuts at the Department of Health and Human Services have presented additional challenges for companies that depend on federal funding and services.
What a moribund article.
FACT: Omissions are critical to all reporting.
I will never move back to MoCo
The recent election cycle revealed to corporate decision makers our inability to separate ourselves from the liberal drainswirl that ruined California, Colorado, Washington, New York and Illinois. Moore and Alsobrooks are all hype with no substance, Elrich is no better, if not worse.
6:34: That's a healthy dose of Copium right there. Use only as directed!
Stupid MOCO and MD voters voting for Democrats
!County Executive ; governor !!!!!! When will you learn . So much better under Hogan!!! Wake up because those of us left will be paying more taxes for our elected leaders stupidity!
The Council and Executive continue to destroy MC. Not going back either.
Maryland governor only cares abt being on TV and bragging abt being the only black governor. There is no major infrastructure projects going on in the state compare to what virginia is doing.
Butler’s Orchard is closing up shop in the county as well. It’s been deteriorating for a long while in MC. The community colleges being the exception, the rest of the county is just too expensive, too crowded and too much regulation and county bs. Rockville is a mess.
Moore was interviewed this week saying how he inherited a deficit and created a surplus. Democrats look you in the eye and tell outright lies that even their base knows is complete gaslighting of the facts. We've seen many neighbors move out of Bethesda to NOVA and other states to escape the fiscal and criminal Insanity coming from Annapolis/Rockville. The others like the CEO of Accenture who's building a 30M compound in Edgemoor are going to be the last ones standing while the bread and butter taxbase is leaving.
@8:03 Awe so sorry Felicia. Buh Bye!
Sigh. 50year MOCO resident here. Not sure what to think. I promised the County Executive that I wouldn't make waves.
So can someone on the County Council please detail why Maryland/ MOCO taxes are driving life sciences business away?
I'm a retiree of Montgomery College and think (with many others presently working there) that the future is not looking good for that top heavy nauseating PC/DEI infused mostly publicly funded institution. HR (and 'talent management' lol) should be investigated by the Feds for illegal hiring practices which have serious ly eroded morale and quality of instruction. MC is deteriorating at all levels and desperately needs Federal investigation and oversight because the State suffers the same DEI myopia.
Better take your Imodium now VA is next to convert to reality dude. Crossing the river will no longer be an escape route. LIBS WIN!
Many residents in the DC area commute over state (or district) lines from home to work and have been for decades. Is it not the case that new businesses coming to Northern VA are good for those in Maryland too?
9:01: It's bad for the County and State revenue coffers, as our structural budget deficits confirm. As far as the residents, wouldn't it be better if the jobs were located within Montgomery County, sparing them a nightmare commute?
I suppose. But whose to say the folks working in those jobs wouldn’t be mostly commuting in from DC or VA?
This what I love about leftists like 8:44, (except the violent part that permeates your party). Perfectly willing to see the taxbase flee yet when the bills come due, they're nowhere to be seen but will end up paying anyway. Classic hypocrite.
3:37 further off topic but couldn't resist.... regarding Montgomery College: I had the PC awakening when visiting the Takoma Park campus back at the end of Trump 45. Their 'workforce development' program (mostly teaching immigrants basics skills like bed sheet changing etc,) had the US Presidents along the wall above the whiteboards, but stooping at Obama. It seemed to me that the purpose was to immediately disrespect him and communicate that to our 'new citizens right from the get go. I've since wondered how the college gets its funding.
@3:58 AM - Hey Mr. MaGoo open your eyes a bit further there's a thing called a bridge, considered a MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURE project, going on in your state, at this very moment. What comparable project exist in your beloved VA is there? NADA.
@9:37AM - Don't get me started on the subject of lies. Your felonious, wannabe dictator holds the world record in that area, no denying it.
8:02: What bridge? The Key Bridge replacement? That's only replacing an existing bridge, and only because it was left unprotected 45 years after the state was warned this could happen, and somebody knocked it down.
Meanwhile, Virginia has completed numerous highway, bridge, airport, and rail projects, including Express Lanes all the way from Fredericksburg to D.C. They also massively increased capacity for their port and its shipping lanes. There's no comparison between Virginia and Maryland in infrastructure efforts.
8:02/8:04 should put down the waterpipe, get back on their meds and turn off MSM. You're entitled to your own opinions but not your own facts.
My facts aren't "alternative" like yours and Dyer's. And as for the 'Bridge' it far exceeds the basic, way overdue works your southern pals are playing catchup with. Funny how Erlich and Hogan paided no attention to protection, rather attempting to wasting precious tax dollars on a shiney new train set that's now defunct.
12:02: Bob Ehrlich opposed the Purple Line. Virginia is not "catching up" - their projects have all been optional to increase economic development. It's one of the few states to partner with Amtrak for major new rail service. The Port was already adequate; the additional capacity has made it faster to access than competing ports, and allowed it to take on all of Baltimore's traffic with no impact to logistics after the Key Bridge collapse. Just 2 examples.
Praising Maryland for rebuilding a bridge it is now forced to rebuild due to total collapse and failure is a weird take, to say the least.
@12:02 Does TDS make you cry at night? DC is much safer under Trump than any of your idols and would make all thr blue cities safe if you guys weren't protecting criminals through protests along with mayors that would rather see their own constituents be victims rather than admit Trump is right.
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