Adapted from Robert Whitcomb's "Digital Diary,'' in GoLocal24.com:
This comment from the Providence Rules Web site is well worth discussion in most cities:
“The City of Providence is giving away tens of millions of dollars in tax subsidies to real estate developers to do what they were going to do anyway. Booming demand for residential housing — particularly rental units for students and trainees in our educational and healthcare institutions — has made real estate development a profitable enterprise without any government subsidy. These real estate tax subsidies are not enhancing economic development in Providence. They are simply enriching a few individuals at the expense of the rest of us.’’
Hit this link to read more.
The taxes that others don’t pay because of these deals, the rest of us have to make up for. And the hype of the entry into a city of a big-name company obscures that, say, 10 smaller, little-known companies may be leaving. Of course, sometimes a big, famous company comes in and starts buying a lot of goods and services from local companies. Economic development is complicated.
