Reports and Fact Sheets

Issue: Business Subsidies Clean Contracting

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. 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. 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. April 2023 New Report Shows Buying Influence Works The science is clear: Gifts, including campaign contributions, influence the decision-making of elected officials. 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. 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. 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.” January 2023 Gov Hochul Doubling Down on Totally Discredited Corporate Welfare An analysis of the four biggest boondoggles that Governor Hochul mentioned in the State of the State. January 2023 State Still Keeping Nine Big Secrets About Vornado/Penn Station Deal ESD and the Hochul administration continue to hide basic information about the Penn Station redevelopment project. We call on them to be fully transparent with the public and release this critical information. January 2023 TIFs: No Such Thing as Free Money Tax Increment Financing (TIF) schemes divert future tax revenue from special districts to government-backed projects intended to reduce blight or create jobs via redevelopment. We oppose TIFs because they are off-budget and put tax dollars at risk. November 2022 Everyone Says They Love Workforce Development, But What, Exactly, Is It? NYS has over 500 workforce development programs but doesn’t have an actual definition of “workforce development.” This report explores the many definitions of workforce development and proposes solutions for improving it. October 2022 In a Healthy Democracy, Facts Matter (20 Major Studies on Business Subsidies) 20 Major Studies Showing Taxpayer Subsidies to Businesses Don’t Work