Tax-Side Spending for Economic Development Continues to Swell
In addition to the nearly $100 million that Gov. Nathan Deal proposes to spend on economic development during the 2014 fiscal year, Georgia is also scheduled to commit another $289 million through 16 business tax credits that companies in Georgia are eligible to claim. These additional “tax expenditures,” or tax breaks, will drive Georgia’s total economic development spending in the next budget year to nearly $400 million, a considerable increase from the 2013 one. Although the stated goal of this tax-side spending is to help grow Georgia’s economy and create jobs, it is unclear whether it actually does so – since lawmakers do not review the effectiveness of tax credits on a regular basis. Download the report.
