Subsidy Sheet: A Chance to End Two of NY’s Grossest Tax Breaks

NY corporate giveaway news from this week:

• We memo’d in support of legislation ending NY’s handouts for luxury yachts (about $1 million a year) and private jets (about $10 million a year), two small but hideous tax breaks. Cheers to the NY Senate for proposing to stop these pointless giveaways to the super-rich in its one-house budget. 
• The Buffalo Bills stadium – which got $1.1 billion from state taxpayers – is not planned to have a royal suite that the Governor and other top pols can use to entertain contributors and cronies, according to the Times Union’s Chris Churchill.
• NYT writes about why subsidies for oil and gas are so difficult to get rid of. The NY Senate’s one-house budget includes a proposal to eliminate $265 million in state fossil fuel tax breaks (Mid-Hudson News).
• NYT also explores whether film/TV tax credits have any value, mentioning the recent NYS-funded study suggesting that the state’s credit has a poor ROI.
• NYS lawmakers are pushing to expand the state’s investment tax credit, which an audit showed produces little benefit for the state (Politico New York).
• Area Development put out its 38th annual survey of “site selection factors” that corporations consider when choosing where to locate. Subsidies rank higher than last year, but again do not top the list.

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