Tax Credits Need Transparency
With tax credits geared toward economic development, the state reports the companies that receive the vouchers but keeps no track of their travel after that. Brokers who buy them and thereafter distribute them to accountants and taxpayers operate completely behind the curtain. For a segment on Channel 10 news, last night, Bill Rappleye asked me about the problem.
As the RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity notes, tax credit and other “corporate welfare” programs corrupt notions of capitalism and lend themselves to back-room deals and economic inefficiencies. It would be better to apply those resources to more broadly based policies, like sales tax reductions.