The deal, approved Thursday by the Iowa Economic Development Authority, includes a refund of $19.6 million in state sale taxes for Apple and a $188 million break on property taxes from Waukee, a booming suburb bordering Des Moines.

In addition to the promised 50 jobs, Apple has agreed to buy 2,000 acres of land for the $1.4 billion project.

Apple joins Facebook, Microsoft, and Google in building Iowa data centres. They are drawn to the state by its generous tax breaks, wind generated electricity and relative security from natural disasters that could disrupt service.

The deal will create a “huge number” of jobs for the region… actually it will create 50. Which means that for each Apple employee at the site, the State will pay $4,160,000. Quite how any government auditor could sign off on a plan that dumb is anyone’s guess as it is unlikely that the state will ever recoup that amount of money for a good century or two.