FOND DU LAC, Wis. -- The Fond du Lac County Board has approved a new half-percent sales tax to help fund a major incentive package designed to keep jobs and boat engine-maker Mercury Marine in Fond du Lac.

The board Wednesday night also approved borrowing $50 million to offer the company as a low interest, performance-based loan.

For every job Mercury Marine keeps, $500 gets taken off the loan. For every new job, the company gets a credit of $1,000.

While Mercury must repay the money by the end of the 12-year agreement, the county added the sales tax to cover borrowing costs and any credits the company earns toward repaying the loan.

Mercury Marine spokesman Steve Fleming said the company is expected to add up to 1,400 manufacturing jobs in Fond du Lac by 2016. Fleming said that would include most, but not all, the 385 factory jobs in Stillwater, Okla.

Mercury Marine has said it plans to repay tax credits it received from Oklahoma now that it plans to relocate jobs from the state.

Last spring, the Oklahoma state Legislature approved investment tax credits as an incentive for the company to move jobs in Wisconsin to its manufacturing plant in Stillwater.

But last week, the company said it would relocate about 380 Oklahoma jobs to Wisconsin within two years after union workers at the Wisconsin plant agreed to wage and benefit concessions.

Mercury Marine said it will refund any benefit it has received with interest no later than Sept. 14.