Zynga ‘wants tax breaks for San Francisco HQ’

Zynga’s future in San Francisco may not be secured unless the firm is awarded payroll tax exemptions, a new report suggests.

A MarketWatch article claims Zynga wants officials to provide it with the same tax incentives that have been offered to fellow San Franciscan business empire Twitter Inc.

“We are looking at a variety of options to grow the company in the Bay Area, and as part of that, we are in serious discussions with the city,” a Zynga spokesperson was quoted as saying.

“It would be premature to comment on those conversations at this time. We are encouraged that the city is engaging with us on this issue.”

Zynga is thought to be seeking payroll tax breaks for new hires, with some news outlets claiming the FarmVille creator has threatened to leave San Francisco unless demands are met.

Zynga would want the tax exemptions to extend to gains on employee stock options, MarketWatch claimed.

In September last year, Zynga announced it had signed a lease for 270,000 square feet of space for new headquarters in the Bay area.