Oklahoma spends 1/3 of its budget on corporate tax incentives!

[poopgiggle]

http://thislandpress.com/roundups/how-oklahoma-pays-out-to-private-companies/

In Oklahoma, 37 cents of every dollar is spent on incentive programs—$584 per capita. Companies receiving the most dollars in grants include Weyerhaeuser ($205 million), Boeing ($48.4 million), Valero Energy ($24.4 million), Dell ($21.6 million), and Continental Resources ($20.4 million). Others in the list include Conoco Phillips, Koch Industries Inc., Chesapeake Energy, and Spirit AeroSystems.

Chesapeake Energy sure needs that money more than our schools do, I tell you what.

 

[ignerntbend]

Please Mr. Boss man. I'm Oklahoma and I'll shine your shoes with the oil on my nose.

 

[Hobbes]

Here is the source of the original story with detailed breakdown. It's quite an eye opener.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/12/01/us/government-incentives.html#OK


The legislators looked at phasing some of these subsidies out last session, as part of their effort to eliminate the state personal income tax, but in the end they came to the conclusion that they shouldn't/couldn't.

So, yeah, your taxes are extracted from you by the state and then given away as corporate welfare but it never seems to make it's way to any of the "***** about welfare" threads we have here on a near daily basis.

We have to give those companies our money because if we don't TX will and then where will we be?

 

[RickN]

What you guys seem to be missing is that the biggest part of that by far is a "Sales Tax Refund or other exemption". That applies when a business buys something for resale or for certain equipment used in manufacturing. In the first case it means that sales tax will not be paid twice for the same item, in the second it means equipment used to create jobs is not taxed.

I know some of you are very anti-business but you can do better then that.

 

[IndVet]

The corporate masters wish to announce that RickN's re-education is complete, and they are pleased.

 

[dugby]

What you guys seem to be missing is that the biggest part of that by far is a "Sales Tax Refund or other exemption". That applies when a business buys something for resale or for certain equipment used in manufacturing. In the first case it means that sales tax will not be paid twice for the same item, in the second it means equipment used to create jobs is not taxed.

I know some of you are very anti-business but you can do better then that.

I am definately not anti-business and I can easily believe that the NY times is dishonest and is misrepresenting the truth in this situation. However, I am very well versed in the needless burdens our government places on our employers which disadvantages all of us. Them getting the welfare is kind of like two wrongs making something right. In other words good for them. All that being said if this is not really corporate welfare what really is corporate welfare? To me the bigger problem is the chronyism and exclusion of competition by local governments influenced by existing businesses.

 

[andrsnsm]

The programs that the State is paying on are for bringing in new jobs (aka new tax revenue from employees) and a business case analysis is done on every one of the programs before they are offered to to corporations. The programs also expire and companies are even dropped from the programs if they do not produce sufficient numbers of new jobs. Without programs such as these this state would have no chance of attracting corporations to move jobs here. This state would be stuck in the 1990's.

 

[uncle money bags]

What you guys seem to be missing is that the biggest part of that by far is a "Sales Tax Refund or other exemption". That applies when a business buys something for resale or for certain equipment used in manufacturing. In the first case it means that sales tax will not be paid twice for the same item, in the second it means equipment used to create jobs is not taxed.

I know some of you are very anti-business but you can do better then that.

I am definately not anti-business and I can easily believe that the NY times is dishonest and is misrepresenting the truth in this situation. However, I am very well versed in the needless burdens our government places on our employers which disadvantages all of us. Them getting the welfare is kind of like two wrongs making something right. In other words good for them. All that being said if this is not really corporate welfare what really is corporate welfare? To me the bigger problem is the chronyism and exclusion of competition by local governments influenced by existing businesses.

The programs that the State is paying on are for bringing in new jobs (aka new tax revenue from employees) and a business case analysis is done on every one of the programs before they are offered to to corporations. The programs also expire and companies are even dropped from the programs if they do not produce sufficient numbers of new jobs. Without programs such as these this state would have no chance of attracting corporations to move jobs here. This state would be stuck in the 1990's.

Congratulations, you are all correct!

Corporate welfare is a bad thing if it does not produce a large enough tax base through sales and employment to more than offset the "tax break". If that is the case then get rid of the program.
On another note, now that we call that corporate welfare, can we agree that tax breaks to individuals are also welfare?

 

[Hobbes]

What you guys seem to be missing is that the biggest part of that by far is a "Sales Tax Refund or other exemption". That applies when a business buys something for resale or for certain equipment used in manufacturing. In the first case it means that sales tax will not be paid twice for the same item, in the second it means equipment used to create jobs is not taxed.

I know some of you are very anti-business but you can do better then that.

Sales tax credit aside, I think what we're talking about here are the aerospace credits, and quality jobs credits 10yr. cash incentives, and small business 7 yr cash incentive, and target industries tax credit, PrimeWIN contractor incentive, Economic development pooled finance, Training for Industry(TIP) program, 5 yr. ad valoriem tax exemption, CDBG/EDIF, and on and on and on ..., that don't really create any new jobs, they just steal them from other states at a lower cost to the company.

I'm pretty sure you would consider it unfair if the state of OK used your income tax payments to then turn around and give a tax credit to a competing company to open a wheelchair company in the same part of town.
Sure they created jobs; they created the jobs you had been planning to hire before the state subsidized your competition.

In the same way, I'm sure that Academy and other sporting goods retailers considered it unfair for the state of OK to take their tax payments and offer a credit to Bass Pro to open a competing business on a desirable piece of property.

You would think it would be unnecessary to explain it to folks who "love capitalism" and "hate government interference in the free markets".

 

[RickN]

Congratulations, you are all correct!

Corporate welfare is a bad thing if it does not produce a large enough tax base through sales and employment to more than offset the "tax break". If that is the case then get rid of the program.
On another note, now that we call that corporate welfare, can we agree that tax breaks to individuals are also welfare?

Agreed on all points.