"Patrick wants to name firms getting tax credits
Massachusetts would start revealing the names of companies that receive lucrative tax credits, under a budget proposal by Governor Deval Patrick. If approved by lawmakers, 2010 budget legislation would require state agencies to issue an annual report that includes the names of taxpayers that receive tax credits and the value of the credits under a number of state economic development programs, including one designed to encourage Hollywood directors to film movies here and another to help the dairy industry.
Related: Making Movies in Massachusetts
Yeah, we are LOSING BIG-TIME on that HOLLYWOOD DEAL!!
The law would also require businesses that receive tax incentives to report how many workers they employ, along with their average salaries. Under current law, the Department of Revenue says it is generally not permitted to release the names of companies that receive tax credits.
WHY NOT? It is OUR MONEY!!!!!!!!!
But some state lawmakers and government watchdogs argue more information should be made public to make it easier to determine how well the programs are working.
Yeah, because it is OUR TAX MONEY they are STEALING -- if the "programs" are "working" at all!!!!
And the GLOBE AGREES(?):
"Transparency for tax breaks
Giving out tax breaks to lure businesses is a common economic development tool in Massachusetts. Yet, up to now, residents have received no accounting of who's getting the breaks. Governor Patrick wisely wants to rectify that. His plan would require state agencies that administer refundable tax credits - credits that function as grants, because they are available even to firms with no tax liability in Massachusetts - to report annually the names of recipients, the size of the credits, and the number of jobs produced.
That's called a TAXPAYER GIVEAWAY, folks!
The information hasn't been disclosed in the past because of laws intended to keep individual taxpayers' information private. But the programs covered by the governor's plan give out $200 million a year; a filmmaking tax credit alone costs the state $100 million. The public deserves to know where the money is going.
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