(Washington Post) — The Washington area has been exceedingly fortunate — or skilled, depending on one’s perspective — at attracting the headquarters of top American corporations in recent years. Fairfax County landed two major headquarters in 2008 (Volkswagen of America and CSC), another two in 2009 (Science Applications International Corp. and Hilton Worldwide) and learned this year that Northrop Grumman would arrive by 2011.
Governors, county executives and mayors jockeying to land company headquarters frequently cite jobs as the top reason to offer subsidies and incentives, but those sometimes amount to far less than anticipated. But there’s another reason corporate relocations are considered important: the expectation that the companies will bring with them heaps of charitable dollars.
