Subsidy Sheet: OZ grifters and tax dodgers want to pay billions less to New York
We’ve been sounding the bell for some time about changes to federal Opportunity Zone tax breaks potentially costing New York tens of millions in revenue as soon as next year. And – ding, ding – the various grifters and tax dodgers already benefiting from the OZ giveaway want more and are circulating a letter to the US Senate that would effect those very changes.
As we wrote earlier, OZ supporters were disappointed with the US House bill for not enabling “interim gains relief,” which would allow investors to invest previous OZ gains in other OZs and still not have to pay capital gains taxes. This would circumvent the so-called “10-year tax break” that requires investments to be held for a decade in order for profits to be tax-free.
The Citizens Budget Commissions has said the OZ program could cost NY up to $424 million annually from 2029 – but if the federal bill includes interim gains relief, OZ costs could arrive as early as 2026. There is still time for the Legislature to pass S3340 (Gianaris) / A3246 (Dinowitz) and save NY billions.
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More NY corporate giveaway news from this week:
- Home-value patterns in OZs continue to be about the same as those not in OZs (ATTOM).
- Data suggests there are fewer housing units in buildings that will receive the new 485-x tax break, and developers are blaming minimum wage requirements (Crain’s).
- Here is yet another example of why we believe corporate subsidy agreements in New York cannot be trusted: Empire State Development is letting the developers of Atlantic Yards off the hook from paying millions in penalties for failing to build hundreds of new apartments by May 2025 (Gothamist).
- Governor Hochul is providing up to $17 million in Excelsior tax credits to General Motors, a company valued at $48 billion.
- Construction of the new Buffalo Bills stadium – which is receiving $1.1 billion in state and local subsidies (and counting) – won’t be completed until the end of 2026 (WGRZ).
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