Reports and Fact Sheets
Issue: Business Subsidies Clean Contracting

Reinvent Albany regularly writes and publishes on issues and legislation relevant to our core mission. Below is a complete list of our reports, policy briefs, and memos.

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. Read more 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. Read more 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 Read more September 2025 New York IDAs’ Reckless Assault on Public School Funding Harm to NY Schools from IDA Property Tax Breaks Multiplied by Flawed Tax Cap Law Read more September 2025 NYS Taxpayers on Pace to Shell Out Nearly a Billion to Hollywood Producers in 2025 New ESD data reveals Q1 2025 payout of $230 million, $65,000 in taxpayer subsidies per full-time film/TV job Read more 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. Read more 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. Read more 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. Read more April 2023 New Report Shows Buying Influence Works The science is clear: Gifts, including campaign contributions, influence the decision-making of elected officials. Read more 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. Read more 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. Read more 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.” Read more