A state board has put out a $20 million incentive to entice Goldman Sachs to expand its operations in Salt Lake City.

The Governor's Office of Economic Development Board on Friday approved a tax rebate of up to $20 million over 20 years to get the financial-services giant to add up to 375 jobs paying more than $75,000 annually, which is more than twice the Salt Lake County median salary of $32,828.

The company declined to say Friday whether it will act on the incentive. Its only comment was in the form of a prepared statement from David Carlebach, managing director of Goldman Sachs in Utah: "Goldman Sachs has had an excellent experience in the state of Utah over the past seven years. We strive to be an employer of choice and look forward to growing our business here in the future."

The company opened its Research Park office in 2000 with the goal of creating a service center for its clients. The site was designed to accommodate up to 450 workers, mostly registered representatives servicing clients' investment needs. In 2001, the company made the office into an operations hub for its existing business, moving functions from offices in New York, London, Zurich and Hong Kong to Salt Lake. It has 350 workers here.

Goldman would continue to finish a five-year, $400,000 Industrial Assistance Fund grant it received from Utah in 2001. The tax rebate approved Friday would be used to offset building costs for the build-out of 15,500 square feet at its existing 80,000-square-foot space.

"If they don't do it here, they're going to do it overseas, so why not do it here?" board member Mel Lavitt said, adding that Utah can never expect the company to put main offices in the state, but the state can be a site for back-office operations.

"I think it's great," he said. "If they do it and do it well, it becomes a template for other big banks to do it. And the jobs are great and the pay is great. It just raises the profile of the state. I see nothing but good things."

Jerry Oldroyd, chairman of the board's incentives committee, said an expansion could lead to even more Goldman Sachs business operations moving to Utah, which would benefit the entire financial services industry cluster in the state.

"I see this as really a win-win situation," board member Gerald Sherratt said, "not only getting the better-paying jobs but just reverberating in many, many other ways as well for the economy of Utah."