WILMINGTON, Del.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, following reports that yet another global company, Corteva Agriscience, is transferring their headquarters away from Delaware, Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware increases calls for transparency and change to make Delaware’s business climate more friendly. Corteva vacating Delaware as its HQ location knocks Delaware’s number of publicly traded NYSE companies back down to only a dozen.
Moreover, Corteva is one of only two Delaware-based corporations to make the Fortune 500 list of the nation's largest companies. The departure is a blow of more than $170,000 in annual franchise tax and fees but more alarmingly, follows a trend of other states like Nevada outpacing Delaware for new incorporations each year. Corteva, a DuPont spin off, had been headquartered in Delaware since being founded in the early 1800’s.
The exit follows another global company exodus by TransPerfect after being handed an unprecedented Chancery Court decision to force the sale from the owners even after year over year success as a company. The judgment made national news in its startling impact for business owners whose company could be taken over by the court even despite growing profits each year.
Said Chris Coffey, Campaign Manager for Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware: “Losing the headquarters of a NYSE global powerhouse to another state is a devastating blow to a state that relies on the incorporation industry for most of its tax revenue, but it’s compounded by the fact that Corteva is a spinoff of the iconic DuPont corporation, Delaware’s most heralded homegrown company. The State’s reputation of handling business through “The Delaware Way,” where the Chancery court can force the sale of a successful, growing company and pass tens of millions of dollars onto elite law firm attorneys and former colleagues, is catching up to the state as corporations decide to take their business elsewhere. If Delaware can lose a portion of such an iconic homegrown company, we suspect there will be even more high-profile departures in the coming years unless Delaware re-commits to treating businesses and their workers fairly.”
Recently, Maxfilings, an incorporation filing service of more than 50,000 businesses ranked Delaware 13th among states with the best business tax climate for incorporation with Wyoming, Nevada, and South Dakota among the states leading the way. In this same time frame, there has been more and more exposure by groups like Transparency International - the global coalition against corruption - exposing Delaware of its lack of transparency and need for more integrity.
Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware is a group made up of more than 5,000 members including employees of the global translation services company TransPerfect, as well as concerned Delaware residents, business executives, and others. They formed in April of 2016 to focus on raising awareness with Delaware residents, elected officials, and other stakeholders about the unprecedented forced sale of TransPerfect. While their primary goal of saving the company has been accomplished, they continue their efforts to fight for more transparency in the Delaware Chancery Court. For more information on Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware or to join the cause, visit DelawareForBusiness.org.
