Subsidy Sheet: Dozens of NY Lawmakers Seek to End NY Tax Breaks for Trump Opportunity Zones

May 12, 2023

New York has yet to fully end its tax break for the Trump administration’s Opportunity Zone program, but support is building for a bill that will do just that.

S543 (Gianaris) / A2170 (Dinowitz) now has 33 cosponsors (and counting) in the Assembly, including members across the state, from Buffalo to Montauk. The bill finally moved onto the Senate floor calendar, meaning it could pass at any time – will the Assembly finally take action? All eyes are on Speaker Carl Heastie to finally end this giveaway before it hands billions in state tax revenue to super-rich real estate investors.

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New York Corporate Giveaway News:

  • ESD is giving Coca-Cola $21 million through the Excelsior Jobs Tax Credit Program for the company’s new milk production facilities in Webster.
  • The boondoggle $455 million loan to Belmont Park racetrack sailed through the budget process not because it’s a good idea, but because unions, interest groups, and businesses all aligned. 
  • The more than $671 million tax breaks that local governments in NY have promised Amazon over the past 20 years have returned little economic benefit according to a new study by economists from the University of Wisconsin and the Jack Kemp Foundation.
  • State Senator Monica Martinez wants to explicitly empower Industrial Development Agencies (IDAs) across the state to subsidize housing as one way to address the state’s housing shortage. 
  • A housing developer in Onondaga County is asking the local IDA for a $3 million tax break for an apartment complex.
  • A company that has benefitted generously from subsidies from Erie County, the Erie County IDA, the state, and the City of Buffalo is the target of a federal lawsuit accusing the company of racist and illegal practices.(Check out the three-part series from the Investigative Post: one, two, three).

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Fun Fact: There is an OZ fund that turns Arizona ghost towns into old-west theme parks – which could be funded by NY tax revenue.

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If you got this from a friend, sign up here. Subsidy Sheet is written by Tom Speaker and Elizabeth Marcello, and edited by John Kaehny.