Quote:
Originally Posted by Barry-xlovecam
When local government units give "corporate welfare" in the form of property tax breaks: Your property taxes on your home (or rental) ratios increase to pay the for the new business' property tax abatement. All property improvements require infrastructure maintenance and public safety services -- who pays the abated taxes? The "non-entitled" residential, manufacturing and commercial landowners -- there are either less services, deficit spending, or property tax rate increases -- someone pays ...
So what's the theory? There will be new workers with money and jobs to pay YOUR property taxes -- when chickens grow lips.
Property tax abatements are tax transfers to corporate landowners from "non-entitled" residential, manufacturing and commercial landowners.
Counties ( local government units ) need money to provide services. We can argue 'till the cows come home on how local government units squander tax money however it doesn't change the fact that when they give an abatement to a high value property improvement (read: a new factory, etc) that someone else has to pay for that new factory's lost property tax revenue.
I would like a 20 year property tax abatement on my new $7,000,000 home I will build in your community. I promise to hire 4 local people as my maid, cook, chauffeur and gardener. You can pay the $90,000 year property tax bill -- everyone else in Shady County can just chip in $0.55 a year for me. Translate that into a new $400,000,000 factory -- $60 a year or more on a modest home.
Property tax abatements are not corporate socialism, 1% welfare or a wealth transfer, right?
Property tax abatements are a hidden corporate tax relief with a façade -- new jobs. This is how corporations play governments against one another, letting for bid who will give me the best tax break.
The shareholders are laughing all the way to the bank that the public bought their bullshit ...
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I think you might be mistaken about the details...
before this "evil" corporation came in, there was an empty lot of land with nothing on it... = minimal tax revenue
then this "evil" corporation comes in and invests $400M to build a factory, how is the local government any worse off after the factory is built? the corporation probably worked out a deal that they won't pay taxes on that $400M investment for 20 years, but why would that make anyone worse off?
it seems pretty clear that everyone is better off, as there are more jobs, more economic activity in general as a result of this $400M investment that was made....