ORLANDO, Fla. — Almost half of the state tax incentives handed out by the state since 2018 have gone to large companies, many of which were already located in the state.
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A new report from Florida’s Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability found, “many businesses that had agreements and received incentive payments during the review period were large and had previously existed in Florida.”
“We’ve seen across the county that large companies are the ones who benefit from those economic development incentive programs,” said Kasia Tarczynska a Senior Research Analyst with the nonprofit Good Jobs First.
While the report notes that many of the programs are set to either sunset or are winding down, the state report nonetheless found, “64% of the 260 projects that received incentive payments were expansions of existing Florida businesses rather than companies new to the state. Additionally, almost half of the projects that received an incentive payment are at large businesses. Specifically, 128 (49%) of projects that received incentive payments were businesses with more than 1,000 employees.”
“I don’t like corporate welfare,” says Speaker of the Florida House Paul Renner. “We haven’t funded these in several years, look we’re a business-friendly state, we don’t need to give companies money to come here, they’re coming anyway.”
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Renner notes that the state has recently been focused on putting money into infrastructure, but stressed that where state programs are still offering tax breaks and incentives, the legislature will maintain oversight.
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