AFRO News: Sen. Jill Carter aims to increase scrutiny of tax incentives for developers
“For decades, Baltimore has doled out tax breaks to spur development, but the increasing use of incentives has not been matched with the requisite scrutiny of how much they cost the city and who is benefiting.
State Sen. Jill Carter, D-Baltimore, has introduced a bill that intends to right that imbalance and study a variety of tax breaks in-depth, with the purpose of determining if their tax breaks are equitable and cost effective…
Maryland currently has a site that lists the credits awarded through state authorized programs, however, it does not break down the costs or benefits to a specific locality, nor does it measure outcomes — an area the task force legislation plans to address.
A report on the effectiveness of Maryland’s transparency laws by Good Jobs First, an organization that advocates for improving disclosure regarding tax subsidies and incentives, noted the lack of outcome-based reporting.
‘Disclosure of subsidy recipients and performance metrics makes it possible for researchers and advocates to determine whether subsidized companies are doing what they promised to do in exchange for public support,’ the report concluded.”
Read the full story at AFRO News.
Watch Tax Broke.