Forward-looking: Samsung recently filed 11 tax break applications to build semiconductor facilities in the suburbs of Austin, Texas. The applications for state-backed incentive programs were posted to the Texas state comptroller's website earlier this week. If pursued, the semiconductor giant's investment could total up to $200 billion across the Austin and Taylor areas.
The applications are part of Texas' Chapter 313 incentive program, which provides companies with a 10-year limitation on the taxable property values in exchange for the applicant installing facilities and creating jobs within the defined area. The proposals come on the heels of Samsung's plans to build a $17 billion semiconductor manufacturing facility just northeast of the Austin area. 
The move, if pursued, would expand Samsung's Texas-based manufacturing operations with two facilities in Austin and nine more in nearby Taylor. But there's no guarantee that the facilities will become a reality. According to Samsung's Michele Glaze, the company has no specific plans to build the facilities at this time. Instead, the Chapter 313 applications are part of a "...long-term planning process of Samsung to evaluate the viability of potentially building additional fabrication plants in the United States." Currently, none of the Chapter 313 applications have received final approval.
The pending applications, which could total almost $5 billion in tax breaks for Samsung, are a major factor in the company's future decision to build additional facilities in the area. The applications themselves by no means guarantee Samsung will follow through with the investment in the area. Failure to secure the incentive could instead force the company to change their current long-range plans and reconsider a more tax-friendly location.