April 2026
NY Taxpayers Spend $77M for One JP Morgan Data Center Job
Rockland County IDA's $77M sales tax abatement for JP Morgan's Orangetown data center expansion creates one full-time job; by far the largest subsidy for a single job in history.
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March 2026
Five Reasons NY Must End Its Tax Break for Trump Opportunity Zones
NYS should fully decouple from the federal Opportunity Zone tax program, which costs the state up to $424 million annually while funneling tax dollars into out-of-state luxury real estate, guns, oil, and crypto investments.
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February 2026
Fundamentally Flawed, Illogical ESD Report Massively Exaggerates Benefits to Taxpayers of NYS $800m/Year Film-TV Production Subsidies
ESD's consultant report massively exaggerates the returns on New York's $800 million annual film and TV production subsidy, ignoring independent experts who have repeatedly found it a waste of taxpayer dollars.
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February 2026
NY Taxpayers Shelled Out $900 Million to Hollywood Producers in 2025
Months after the Governor and Legislature approve new subsidies, film/TV handouts continue to climb.
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October 2025
Policy Crossroads: Reconsidering IDA Housing Tax Breaks in New York
Our new report with the State Policy Advocacy Clinic at the Brooks School of Public Policy at Cornell on constitutionally questionable housing projects being undertaken by IDAs across New York State
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May 2024
Upstate Law Firms Reap Undisclosed Millions from IDA Deals that Cost Public Billions
Big political contributions from law firms earning transaction fees on IDA deals may fuel more and larger corporate subsidies.
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April 2024
IDAs Have Perverse Incentive to Give Away Tax Dollars
IDAs have a perverse incentive to give away tax revenue that would otherwise support schools, parks, and emergency services.
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July 2023
“Open ESD” Report Recommends Major Reforms for Secretive State Authority
Report includes 35 specific actions to improve Empire State Development’s transparency, governance, oversight, and ethics.
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April 2023
New Report Shows Buying Influence Works
The science is clear: Gifts, including campaign contributions, influence the decision-making of elected officials.
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March 2023
Major Studies Show Film and TV Tax Credit Programs Create Little Payoff
NYS leaders are proposing a massive expansion of NY’s film/TV tax credit that would cost $7B over the next decade. There's substantial evidence that these credits don't create the promised effects on jobs, incomes, or economic growth.
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February 2023
Debunked: 25 Major Studies Showing Corporate Handouts Do Not Work
There is overwhelming evidence that government handouts to corporations and industries are a waste of taxpayer funds.
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February 2023
NY Opportunity Zones May Be Subsidizing Guns, Oil, Crypto
NY may be subsidizing investments in gun mega-sellers, oil companies, and crypto mining under the Opportunity Zone (OZ) tax break, Reinvent Albany said in new report: “Guns, Oil, and Crypto.”
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