New York's 115 industrial development agencies are failing to provide promised jobs while costing the state and local governments tax revenue, two advocacy groups said in a joint report last week.
Tax-exemptions provided by IDAs cost the state and its municipalities $645 million in lost revenue, according to "No Return on Our Investment," a report released by New York Jobs with Justice and Urban Agenda, which describe themselves as coalitions of worker and community organizations with a focus on sustainability.
The groups called for companies receiving public subsidies from IDAs to be required to pay middle-class wages. Business groups have opposed wage standards for companies receiving tax-exemptions or tax-exempt financing.
IDAs created 31,518 fewer jobs in 2008 than in 2007, despite increasing year-over-year net tax exemptions by $61 million, the report said, citing figures from a report issued in May by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. That report attributed most of the reduction in job creation to incomplete reporting by the New York City Industrial Development Agency rather than actual job losses.
The report came as Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, D-Westchester, called for the passage of a bill, A. 7242, that would end the practice of paying bonuses to public authority employees.
