BlueCross BlueShield to add more than 700 jobs in Columbia in exchange for tax break

BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina will add 702 full-time jobs in the next five years and invest more than $60 million in Columbia after the company re-negotiated a tax-break agreement with Columbia and Richland County.

Richland County Council approved the company’s tax abatement proposal in a 10-1 vote Tuesday night. The agreement will offer incentives to South Carolina’s largest insurance provider to encourage continued growth.

A fee in lieu of taxes will reduce the company’s property tax rate on any new equipment purchased to 6%. Infrastructure tax credits combined with special source tax credits will lower the company’s overall taxes owed by 20% over a 10-year period.

BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina is headquartered in Columbia and employs about 10,500 people in the Midlands, said company spokesperson Patti Embry-Tautenhan.

“Columbia is well-established as having one of the country’s largest insurance technology sectors in the nation and we are a leader in this space. In the near and long term, we anticipate business growth across the organization. Moreover, as you would expect, technology evolves, which requires ongoing investment to ensure the most current capability,” Embry-Tautenhan said.

BlueCross will “expand its existing facilities in the county consisting of taxable investment in real and personal property of not less than $60,315,000,” according to county public records.

The company did not disclose what specific jobs it will add in the coming years, nor the potential salaries.