DiNapoli: Overhaul IDAs

New York’s industrial development agencies supported 4,444 projects and provided nearly $500 million in net tax exemptions in 2010, but projects were down and cumulative job gains decreased by 22,000 from 2009, according to an annual performance report by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.

For the second straight year, the correlation between higher tax exemptions and job creation appears limited, the report noted.

“Taxpayers are not getting enough bang for their buck when it comes to IDAs,” DiNapoli said in a statement. “Residents, particularly those in high-cost regions such as Long Island and the mid-Hudson Valley, have every right to question whether the additional tax breaks are producing promised economic benefits.”

In 2010, IDAs provided $1.3 billion in tax exemptions. Although those exemptions were offset by $785 million in payments-in-lieu of taxes, or PILOTs, local taxpayers picked up a $483 million tab to compensate for the IDA-supported projects, DiNapoli said.

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New York
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