A State Comptroller audit of the NYC Industrial Development Agency (NYCIDA) found that the authority’s paperwork has been lacking at best, nonexistent at worst. Some highlights from the audit:
- “For 15 of the 17 projects, either NYCIDA did not do a [financial feasibility] analysis or the analysis was done incorrectly.”
- “Information on businesses deemed ineligible [for financial assistance] or whose applications stalled prior to award either is not kept or is incomplete.”
- “Two projects that expected to hire 472 FTEs were granted multiple extensions (8 months and 36 months) for completion of construction. As the projects have not yet completed construction, the City has not received any of the expected benefits. These two projects received approximately $2.67 million in sales tax, property tax, and mortgage recording tax exemptions.”
- “Two projects that were terminated had the same number of employees as when they started, yet they received benefits of $113,950.”
Though these types of findings seem to show up on a regular basis, there’s a remarkable lack of urgency from the state on saving millions in taxpayer dollars from businesses.
NY corporate giveaway news from this week:
- Investigative Post reports on the “mixed bag” of IDA reform this past legislative session.
- Federal lawmakers are looking at reforming, but not ending, Trump’s Opportunity Zone program (Bloomberg). If NY does not end its OZ tax break, the program will cost the state and city up to $420 million a year from 2029.
- What to know about New York’s office residential conversion tax incentive (Crain’s).
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