State lawmakers are hoping to attract Apple by changing tax law.

The California-based computer company is looking for place to put a what is expected to be a data center, and western North Carolina is in the running. A bill that would give corporate tax breaks to a company like Apple passed the Senate Thursday with a vote of 42-6.

“I don’t like all these incentives, but you can either do it and be in the game or have them go somewhere else,” said Senator William R. Purcell (D- Anson, Richmond, Scotland, Stanly), who voted in favor of the bill. “If all states agreed not to give incentives, North Carolina would win out because it’s a great place to live.”

A company has to meet certain conditions to qualify for the incentive: Invest $1 billion in a rural area over a period of nine years, meet wage standards and provide health insurance.

“You can’t make a bill specifically for Apple,” said Purcell. “You make it for companies trying to make this kind of investment in North Carolina. And one of the things an executive looks at is where the lowest corporate tax rates are.”

According to the News and Observer, the Apple facility would probably provide 50 jobs at first.

“We aren’t losing anything because we don’t have anything to start with,” said Purcell. “Unless they come here. Then (in addition to jobs) you get all the subsidiaries that grow up around it. We lost Mercedes because we didn’t really go after them.”

This kind of bill isn’t a lone occurrence. Lawmakers are looking for different ways to counteract the effects of recession. According to Purcell, legislation that would modernize the state’s tax structure is in development, and has been for decades.

“We have a tax structure where the laws are based on a 1920s economy,” said Purcell. “It’s based on textiles, agriculture and furniture. We’ve become more of a service type economy. Most states have modernized the tax structure to give them a more stable revenue source.”

According to Purcell, one proposal is to reduce taxes but broaden the tax base by taxing more services — 55 instead of the current 25. He said he has yet to see any legislation, but the need for jobs adds weight to any argument about tax code modernization.

“We’ve got this major budget deficit we’re facing,” said Purcell. “With the economy turned down, more people are unemployed, so we’re getting less money in (income) taxes. Most of our revenue comes from personal income taxes. We do need to get this (tax code modernization) legislation moved on if we can.”