“Schools in New York last year lost an estimated $1.8 billion in tax revenue to businesses receiving tax abatements.
A report released Wednesday by the national advocacy organization Good Jobs First detailed the revenue hit schools in the state with the tax breaks, using a new government accounting rule that disclosed the effect of the abatements for the first time.
The report gave lawmakers in the state Senate and Assembly a new catalyst for a bill meant to end the breaks.
State Sen. Sean Ryan of Buffalo is backing the legislation with Rochester Assemblyman Harry Bronson that would bar Industrial Development Agencies from abating the school share of property taxes.
‘It’s a simple bill: Prohibit IDAs from waiving school taxes. School taxes belong to school children,’ Ryan said on Wednesday at a news conference flanked by advocates.”