Lawmakers in at least a half-dozen states are considering forming a compact in which they would agree to end efforts to lure companies with tax incentives.
- SPEED READ:
- Legislatures in Florida, Illinois, New York and several other states are considering or may take up a version of the End Corporate Welfare Act, which would stop the practice of offering tax incentives designed to woo certain corporations to relocate.
- Supporters say such a multistate compact would end the “race to the bottom” of states trying to outbid one another in corporate giveaways.
- The effort is part of a backlash to the $2 billion in tax breaks promised to Amazon by New York and Virginia for its second headquarters.
Amazon’s yearlong, nationwide contest for its second corporate headquarters netted the internet retail giant more than $2 billion in promised tax breaks from New York state and Virginia. But after mounting public resistance to such “corporate welfare,” Amazon announced Thursday that it will abandon its plans for New York City.
This, as the End Corporate Welfare Act is circulating in several states, including New York. The bill would essentially call a cease-fire on awarding tax incentives to certain companies by creating an interstate compact of states that agree to end the practice.
GOVERNING.COM
BY LIZ FARMER | FEBRUARY 14, 2019 AT 5:05 PM