Subsidy Sheet: Subsidy stories you may have missed

NY corporate giveaway news from this week:

• NYT asks whether Broadway’s Lion King production needs a $3 million tax credit. “The shows are not going to go anywhere,” said Reinvent Albany’s policy fellow Liz Marcello. “The theaters are physically on Broadway. It’s totally ludicrous.”
• Spectrum covers our joint report with Good Jobs First, “Perverse Incentive,” which found that one-third of IDAs got 100% of their operating revenue from transaction fees. WSHU also highlighted the report’s finding that Long Island’s Brookhaven IDA raked in the most fees of IDAs outside NYC. Thanks to Kerim for the tip!
• The Senate passed the Gianaris/Dinowitz bill that would fully end NY’s Opportunity Zone tax break. Here’s our statement calling on the Assembly to follow suit.
• The Syracuse Post-Standard details how Micron could receive over $20 billion in combined federal, state, and local subsidies for its fabs in upstate Clay, NY.
• Andrew Zimbalist, a leading sports economist, cast doubt on the economic benefits of building a soccer stadium in downtown Albany (Times Union). Said Zimbalist: “If the project is planned properly and financed properly and the city’s characteristics are amenable then it can be fiscally neutral or even a modest plus — but that’s usually not the case. The typical case is that there’s a fiscal loss for the city and it doesn’t create net jobs.”
• The Buffalo Riverbend Tesla/SolarCity plant built by the state laid off more workers (WGRZ), bringing the total to 346 jobs lost.
• TV and nonprofit news outlets were left out of the $90 million tax credit for NY journalism (Gothamist). Whether it was intentional is still unclear.

Note to journalists covering corporate subsidies: “Reimbursable tax credits” ≠ “tax breaks.” Tax credits like Film/TV, Theater, and “Green” CHIPS are government reimbursements paid to businesses for eligible expenses. Reimbursable tax credits are calculated based on a businesses’ expenses, not revenue or tax liability.

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