Download or read book Evaluating State and Local Business Tax Incentives written by Cailin R. Slattery and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This essay describes and evaluates state and local business tax incentives in the United States. In 2014, states spent between $5 and $216 per capita on incentives for firms in the form of firm-specific subsidies and general tax credits, which mostly target investment, job creation, and research and development. Collectively, these incentives amounted to nearly 40% of state corporate tax revenues for the typical state, but some states' incentive spending exceeded their corporate tax revenues. States with higher per capita incentives tend to have higher state corporate tax rates. Recipients of firm-specific incentives are usually large establishments in manufacturing, technology, and high-skilled service industries, and the average discretionary subsidy is $178M for 1,500 promised jobs. Firms tend to accept subsidy deals from places that are richer, larger, and more urban than the average county, and poor places provide larger incentives and spend more per job. Comparing "winning" and runner-up locations for each deal in a bigger and more recent sample than in prior work, we find that average employment within the 3-digit industry of the deal increases by roughly 1,500 jobs. While we find some evidence of direct employment gains from attracting a firm, we do not find strong evidence that firm-specific tax incentives increase broader economic growth at the state and local level. Although these incentives are often intended to attract and retain high-spillover firms, the evidence on spillovers and productivity effects of incentives appears mixed. As subsidy-giving has become more prevalent, subsidies are no longer as closely tied to firm investment. If subsidy deals do not lead to high spillovers, justifying these incentives requires substantial equity gains, which are also unclear empirically.

Download or read book Making Sense of Incentives written by Timothy J. Bartik and published by W.E. Upjohn Institute. This book was released on 2019-10-15 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bartik provides a clear and concise overview of how state and local governments employ economic development incentives in order to lure companies to set up shop—and provide new jobs—in needy local labor markets. He shows that many such incentive offers are wasteful and he provides guidance, based on decades of research, on how to improve these programs.

Download or read book Rethinking Property Tax Incentives for Business written by Daphne A. Kenyon and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The use of property tax incentives for business by local governments throughout the United States has escalated over the last 50 years. While there is little evidence that these tax incentives are an effective instrument to promote economic development, they cost state and local governments $5 to $10 billion each year in forgone revenue. Three major obstacles can impede the success of property tax incentives as an economic development tool. First, incentives are unlikely to have a significant impact on a firm's profitability since property taxes are a small part of the total costs for most businesses--averaging much less than 1 percent of total costs for the U.S. manufacturing sector. Second, tax breaks are sometimes given to businesses that would have chosen the same location even without the incentives. When this happens, property tax incentives merely deplete the tax base without promoting economic development. Third, widespread use of incentives within a metropolitan area reduces their effectiveness, because when firms can obtain similar tax breaks in most jurisdictions, incentives are less likely to affect business location decisions. This report reviews five types of property tax incentives and examines their characteristics, costs, and effectiveness: property tax abatement programs; tax increment finance; enterprise zones; firm-specific property tax incentives; and property tax exemptions in connection with issuance of industrial development bonds. Alternatives to tax incentives should be considered by policy makers, such as customized job training, labor market intermediaries, and business support services. State and local governments also can pursue a policy of broad-based taxes with low tax rates or adopt split-rate property taxation with lower taxes on buildings than land.State policy makers are in a good position to increase the effectiveness of property tax incentives since they control how local governments use them. For example, states can restrict the use of incentives to certain geographic areas or certain types of facilities; publish information on the use of property tax incentives; conduct studies on their effectiveness; and reduce destructive local tax competition by not reimbursing local governments for revenue they forgo when they award property tax incentives.Local government officials can make wiser use of property tax incentives for business and avoid such incentives when their costs exceed their benefits. Localities should set clear criteria for the types of projects eligible for incentives; limit tax breaks to mobile facilities that export goods or services out of the region; involve tax administrators and other stakeholders in decisions to grant incentives; cooperate on economic development with other jurisdictions in the area; and be clear from the outset that not all businesses that ask for an incentive will receive one.Despite a generally poor record in promoting economic development, property tax incentives continue to be used. The goal is laudable: attracting new businesses to a jurisdiction can increase income or employment, expand the tax base, and revitalize distressed urban areas. In a best case scenario, attracting a large facility can increase worker productivity and draw related firms to the area, creating a positive feedback loop. This report offers recommendations to improve the odds of achieving these economic development goals.

Download or read book Incentives to Pander written by Nathan M. Jensen and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2018-03-15 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Policies targeting individual companies for economic development incentives, such as tax holidays and abatements, are generally seen as inefficient, economically costly, and distortionary. Despite this evidence, politicians still choose to use these policies to claim credit for attracting investment. Thus, while fiscal incentives are economically inefficient, they pose an effective pandering strategy for politicians. Using original surveys of voters in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, as well as data on incentive use by politicians in the US, Vietnam and Russia, this book provides compelling evidence for the use of fiscal incentives for political gain and shows how such pandering appears to be associated with growing economic inequality. As national and subnational governments surrender valuable tax revenue to attract businesses in the vain hope of long-term economic growth, they are left with fiscal shortfalls that have been filled through regressive sales taxes, police fines and penalties, and cuts to public education.

Download or read book Evaluating Business Development Incentives written by Kenneth E. Poole and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Local Tax Incentives for Business in New York State written by Sylvia Adams and published by . This book was released on 1978 with total page 22 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Taxation of Business by American State and Local Governments written by Steven David Gold and published by . This book was released on 1986 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Do Economic Incentives Work Evaluating the Effect of Incentives Designed to Attract Investment on State Industry Growth Rates written by Christian Conroy and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 112 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Economic development scholars remain divided over whether economic incentives designed to attract businesses to a locality ultimately promote job growth, higher wages and economic development or just give away taxpayer dollars. While some research has found that economic incentives may nudge a company to choose one location over a similar location, others have argued that companies make location decisions based on strategic considerations like human capital and supply chains, and not based on economic incentives. At the same time, even if companies are choosing to locate to a particular locality based on an economic incentive package, it is not clear that the growth they bring is enough to compensate for the loss of tax revenue. In this paper we evaluate the impact of five different types of state-level economic incentives on GDP growth. We use a novel Panel Database on Incentives and Taxes established by the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research that contains data on marginal business taxes and business incentives for 45 industries in 47 cities in 33 states collected from 1990 to 2015. Using several estimation strategies, including short and long term two-way fixed effects regression modeling and propensity score stratification, we find that economic incentives in the aggregate have a positive impact on state-industry GDP growth but the effects differ across economic incentive types.

Download or read book Improving Tax Increment Financing TIF for Economic Development written by David Merriman and published by . This book was released on 2018-09-05 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Economist David Merriman of the University of Illinois at Chicago reviews more than 30 individual studies in the most comprehensive assessment of tax increment financing (TIF) with practical recommendations for policy makers and practitioners. The report finds that while TIF has the potential to draw investment into neglected places, it has not accomplished the goal of promoting economic development in most cases. First implemented in the 1950s, TIF funds economic development within a defined district by earmarking increases in future property tax revenues that result from increases in real estate values in the district. The tax revenue can be used for public infrastructure or to compensate private developers for their investments, but TIF is prone to several pitfalls: it often captures some revenues that would have been generated through normal appreciation in property values, it can be exploited by cities to obtain revenues that would otherwise go to overlying government entities such as school districts, and it can make cities' financial decisions less transparent by separating them from the normal budget process. The report recommends several ways that state and local policy makers can reform TIF practices going forward.

Download or read book Fiscal Regimes for Extractive Industries Design and Implementation written by International Monetary Fund. Fiscal Affairs Dept. and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2012-08-16 with total page 82 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Better designed and implemented fiscal regimes for oil, gas, and mining can make a substantial contribution to the revenue needs of many developing countries while ensuring an attractive return for investors, according to a new policy paper from the International Monetary Fund. Revenues from extractive industries (EIs) have major macroeconomic implications. The EIs account for over half of government revenues in many petroleum-rich countries, and for over 20 percent in mining countries. About one-third of IMF member countries find (or could find) resource revenues “macro-critical” – especially with large numbers of recent new discoveries and planned oil, gas, and mining developments. IMF policy advice and technical assistance in the field has massively expanded in recent years – driven by demand from member countries and supported by increased donor finance. The paper sets out the analytical framework underpinning, and key elements of, the country-specific advice given. Also available in Arabic: ????? ??????? ?????? ???????? ???????????: ??????? ???????? Also available in French: Régimes fiscaux des industries extractives: conception et application Also available in Spanish: Regímenes fiscales de las industrias extractivas: Diseño y aplicación

Download or read book Local Tax Incentives in Action written by Frederic Sautet and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 43 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With a heightened focus on job creation, cities are relying on targeted tax incentives to attract businesses. This study considers the characteristics of property tax incentives and examines their effect on growth. Because of the city's high unemployment, Memphis's Payment-in-Lieu-of-Tax (PILOT) program allows us to evaluate various tax incentive designs. The PILOT reduces the property taxes of select businesses in order to create new jobs and investment. As our analysis causes us to question the effectiveness of the PILOT, after discussing its specifics, analyzing available data, and surveying relevant literature, we suggest alternative policies for improving Memphis's growth prospects.Economic growth creates jobs; jobs do not create growth. Thus, job creation in itself is not an advisable policy end. Though tax reductions may create jobs, the PILOT allows policymakers to exercise excessive discretion to the detriment of the Memphis area. Rather than allowing market participants to discover opportunities made viable by non-discriminatory tax reductions, citizens expect policymakers to actively create jobs while businesses lobby politicians for favors.The motivation behind the PILOT is understandable. Fortunately, Memphis can cultivate economic growth via tax reform, either by embracing tax consistency or generality. The former requires that the PILOT program adhere strictly to a coherent system for evaluating PILOT applications, encouraging governments to tax comparable businesses equally and reducing businesses' incentives to lobby for favors. The latter option, though politically difficult, requires policymakers to eliminate the PILOT, streamline governance, and reduce taxation in order to rein in the cost of doing business and promote entrepreneurial discovery.The lessons of the PILOT program in Memphis are applicable to tax incentive policy elsewhere. The more tax incentives involve officials' discretionary decision making, the less likely they are to produce the benefits of genuine tax reform. Localities that employ targeted tax incentives in an attempt to rectify economic problems should seek to remedy the causes of economic distress by removing barriers to entrepreneurship,rather than trying to steer economic activity.

Download or read book Assessing the Theory and Practice of Land Value Taxation written by Richard F. Dye and published by Lincoln Inst of Land Policy. This book was released on 2010 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The land value tax is the focus of this Policy Focus Report, Assessing the Theory and Practice of Land Value Taxation. A concept dating back to Henry George, the land value tax is a variant of the property tax that imposes a higher tax rate on land than on improvements, or taxes only the land value. Many other types of changes in property tax policy, such as assessment freezes or limitations, have undesirable side effects, including unequal treatment of similarly situated taxpayers and distortion of economic incentives. The land value tax can enhance both the fairness and the efficiency of property tax collection, with few undesirable effects; land is effectively in fixed supply, so an increase in the tax rate on land value will raise revenue without distorting the incentives for owners to invest in and use their land. A land value tax has also been seen as a way to combat urban sprawl by encouraging density and infill development. Authors Richard F. Dye and Richard W. England examine the experience of those who have implemented the land value tax -- more than 30 countries around the world, and in the United States, several municipalities dating back to 1913, when the Pennsylvania legislature permitted Pittsburgh and Scranton to tax land values at a higher rate than building values. A 1951 statute gave smaller Pennsylvania cities the same option to enact a two-rate property tax, a variation of the land value tax. About 15 communities currently use this type of tax program, while others tried and rescinded it. Hawaii also has experience with two-rate taxation, and Virginia and Connecticut have authorized municipalities to choose a two-rate property tax. The land value tax has been subjected to studies comparing jurisdictions with and without it, and to legal challenges. A land value tax also raises administrative issues, particularly in the area of property tax assessments. Land value taxation is an attractive alternative to the traditional property tax, especially to much more problematic types of property tax measures such as assessment limitations, the authors conclude. A land value tax is best implemented if local officials use best assessing practices to keep land and improvement values up to date; phase in dual tax rates over several years; and include a tax credit feature in those communities where land-rich but income-poor citizens might suffer from land value taxation.

Download or read book 2017 State Business Tax Climate Index written by Jared Walczak and published by . This book was released on 2017-09-28 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Tax Foundation's State Business Tax Climate Index enables business leaders, government policymakers, and taxpayers to gauge how their states' tax systems compare. While there are many ways to show how much is collected in taxes by state governments, the Index is designed to show how well states structure their tax systems, and provides a roadmap to improving these structures.

Download or read book Who Benefits from State and Local Economic Development Policies written by Timothy J. Bartik and published by . This book was released on 1991 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Making Money Matter written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1999-11-30 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The United States annually spends over $300 billion on public elementary and secondary education. As the nation enters the 21st century, it faces a major challenge: how best to tie this financial investment to the goal of high levels of achievement for all students. In addition, policymakers want assurance that education dollars are being raised and used in the most efficient and effective possible ways. The book covers such topics as: Legal and legislative efforts to reduce spending and achievement gaps. The shift from "equity" to "adequacy" as a new standard for determining fairness in education spending. The debate and the evidence over the productivity of American schools. Strategies for using school finance in support of broader reforms aimed at raising student achievement. This book contains a comprehensive review of the theory and practice of financing public schools by federal, state, and local governments in the United States. It distills the best available knowledge about the fairness and productivity of expenditures on education and assesses options for changing the finance system.

Download or read book The Great American Jobs Scam written by Greg LeRoy and published by Berrett-Koehler Publishers. This book was released on 2005-07-21 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For the past 20 years, corporations have been receiving huge tax breaks and subsidies in the name of "jobs, jobs, jobs." But, as Greg LeRoy demonstrates in this important new book, it's become a costly scam. Playing states and communities off against each other in a bidding war for jobs, corporations reduce their taxes to next-to-nothing and win subsidy packages that routinely exceed $100,000 per job. But the subsidies come with few strings attached. So companies feel free to provide fewer jobs, or none at all, or even outsource and lay people off. They are also free to pay poverty wages without health care or other benefits. All too often, communities lose twice. They lose jobs--or gain jobs so low-paying they do nothing to help the community--and lose revenue due to the huge corporate tax breaks. That means fewer resources for maintaining schools, public services, and infrastructure. In the end, the local governments that were hoping for economic revitalization are actually worse off. They're forced to raise taxes on struggling small businesses and working families, or reduce services, or both. Greg LeRoy uses up-to-the-minute examples, naming names--including Wal-Mart, Raytheon, Fidelity, Bank of America, Dell, and Boeing--to reveal how the process works. He shows how carefully corporations orchestrate the bidding wars between states and communities. He exposes shadowy "site location consultants" who play both sides against the middle, and he dissects government and corporate mumbo-jumbo with plain talk. The book concludes by offering common-sense reforms that will give taxpayers powerful new tools to deter future abuses and redirect taxpayer investments in ways that will really pay off.

Download or read book Directory of Incentives for Business Investment and Development in the United States written by National Association of State Development Agencies (U.S.) and published by University Press of America. This book was released on 1986 with total page 738 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: