Tax breaks in Mass a secret
Some of this states biggest companies are applying for millions in tax breaks, all in secret according to the Globe. The obscure state Economic Assistance Coordinating Council is keeping the size of incentives away from public scrutiny. These tax breaks are based on how many new jobs will be created and as we all know from previous posts, many of the companies that have received millions in tax breaks have not done for the State what they had promised. Pam Wilmont from Common Cause has raised the red flag on this and says it's the public right to know, who is getting what, how much and what for.
State Sec Galvin has said the council cannot be exempt from open meeting laws, but he and AG Coakley have declined to do anything about it. Under pressure. the council will now post times and places for public meetings, but this council needs to be eliminated and companies can apply for tax breaks in local communities.
posted by Jim Pillsbury @ 11:14 AM
6 Comments
6 Comments:
How exactly do you get appointed to this Economic Assistance Coordinating Council and who appoints you? That would be interesting to know. And if they are being forced to post the meetng schedule, then we have to make sure people show up at these meetings if we want them to take our complaints seriously. So where do we go to find the meeting schedules Jim?
good question FR.
Here's the link to thier web site. Next meeting is in June in Boston.
http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=ehedterminal&L=3&L0=Home&L1=Start%2C+Grow+%26+Relocate+Your+Business&L2=Taxes+%26+Incentives&sid=Ehed&b=terminalcontent&f=mobd_tax_incentives_edip_info&csid=Ehed
The Sec of State may not be running for re-election, but the AG is, and after the beating she just took, you would think she will be responsive to the wants of the voters. If they do post meetings and no one shows up, no reason for them to push them to post meetings in the future. So lets show up people.
How the hell do you find this stuff out? Tell me more. What is the track record of the companies this commission has given discounts to?
A Globe report recently published showed that most of the companies who have received tax breaks have not lived up to their commitments. The biggest is the solar company at Devens who has received millions in tax breaks, state and local, and shipped out jobs to China.
Liberty Mutual is asking for big breaks for a Boston building. They claim they will add 600 jobs in 5 years. That may be true, but only time will tell. Many companies have cut jobs that have received and continue to receive both state and local tax breaks. Once the tax breaks are given, we have no recourse.
And in some cases, the biggest companies would have come and set up shop or built buildings, regardless of tax breaks, the Globe found.
Why is this a secret if it is supposedly all above board and a good thing? It smell rotten because it is rotten if you ask me and none of us are letting these politicians know that we think what they are doing is wrong. We have got to stand up and be heard or nothing is going to change and this is a perfect example of that.
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