Subsidy Sheet: Win for ABO over rogue IDA, Opportunity Zones, Film/TV tax break, 421-a

December 8, 2023

This week in NY corporate giveaway news:

  • A state appeals court ruled that the Saratoga Economic Development Corporation is subject to oversight by the Authorities Budget Office, which keeps an eye on over 100 NYS industrial development agencies (Times Union).
  • Governing Mag, writing on the best approach to fighting poverty, noted three 2023 analyses found Opportunity Zones don’t deliver major economic benefits: “[T]he right-leaning American Enterprise Institute found ‘no robust evidence of increased business activity nor consumer spending’ in opportunity zones, only ‘modest stimulation of multifamily housing in certain years.’”
  • This year, NY expanded its film/TV tax giveaway to provide $7.7 billion to the industry over the next 11 years. Somehow that wasn’t enough – before Thanksgiving, NYC Mayor Eric Adams celebrated the groundbreaking of a new Sunnyside, Queens film studio, which will receive a yet-unreported amount of tax incentives from the City (Cityland NYC).
  • Advocates’ push for action on housing could include the renewal of 421-a, which provides real estate developments with huge tax breaks and will cost NYC $1.7 billion a year despite expiring in 2022 (The Real Deal).

–

If you got this from a friend, sign up here. 

Please send questions and tips to tom [at] reinventalbany [dot] org. We look forward to hearing from you!