The American non-profit Good Jobs First estimates that the retail giant Wal-Mart has received more than US$ 200 million in economic development subsidies over the last three years. In 2004, a highly-publicized report from Good Jobs First calculated that the company had netted some US$ 1 billion in subsidies.

Subsidy deals went to 30 stores and nine distribution centers in 15 states. The bulk of the state and local government subsidies flowed to retail stores - US$ 190 million of the US$ 220 million total.

A new website has been set up that documents the various tax breaks, free land, infrastructure assistance, low-cost financing and grants from state and local governments that Wal-Mart has received (http://www.walmartsubsidywatch.org). Using an interactive map, visitors to the site can search for data by state, city and country. Users can also search for information by subsidy type.