As Companies Seek Tax Deals, Governments Pay High Price

[unhappycamper]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/us/how-local-taxpayers-bankroll-corporations.html?hp



General Motors pushed hard for tax breaks in Ypsilanti Township, Mich. Some $200 million later, this is what remains


As Companies Seek Tax Deals, Governments Pay High Price

~snip~

For years, mayors and governors anxious about local jobs had agreed to G.M.’s demands for cash rewards, free buildings, worker training and lucrative tax breaks. As late as 2007, the company was telling local officials that these sorts of incentives would “further G.M.’s strong relationship” with them and be a “win/win situation,” according to town council notes from one Michigan community.

Yet at least 50 properties on the 2009 liquidation list were in towns and states that had awarded incentives, adding up to billions in taxpayer dollars, according to data compiled by The New York Times.

~snip~

A Times investigation has examined and tallied thousands of local incentives granted nationwide and has found that states, counties and cities are giving up more than $80 billion each year to companies. The beneficiaries come from virtually every corner of the corporate world, encompassing oil and coal conglomerates, technology and entertainment companies, banks and big-box retail chains.

The cost of the awards is certainly far higher. A full accounting, The Times discovered, is not possible because the incentives are granted by thousands of government agencies and officials, and many do not know the value of all their awards. Nor do they know if the money was worth it because they rarely track how many jobs are created. Even where officials do track incentives, they acknowledge that it is impossible to know whether the jobs would have been created without the aid.



unhappycamper comment: It's a NYT article and probably requires fact checking as do most of Murdoch's 'newspapers'.

[snot]

1. K&R'd.