On Monday the General Assembly approved changing North Carolina state tax laws in the hope that Apple will invest $1 billion into the area. The Senate voted 40-8 in favour of the changes.

The bill will now go to Governor Beverly Perdue who is expected to pass it into law with no qualms.

The bill itself names no company as the beneficiary of the tax break but a story last week pinpointed Apple as the company that would be building a data centre in a rural area of the state.