With chip-maker Micron Technology set to pull down the largest taxpayer subsidy in New York state history, a new report from the Empire Center looks at the other types of special treatment the company is receiving, and challenges other New York businesses to ask the question: what would Micron get?
In The Micron Test, report author Ken Girardin examines the terms of New York’s deal with Micron and shows the incentives being offered go far beyond cash subsidies. He encourages companies to put themselves in Micron’s shoes to better understand the disparate treatment Albany offers politically favored companies.
“New York has an economic growth problem, and Albany’s solution has been to make big bets on big names,” said Girardin. “It’s not working. Governor Hochul and state lawmakers should be fixing the things that make it hard for companies to open or expand. This report will help state officials and business leaders better understand both why and how.”
Girardin identifies five areas, besides state and local subsidies expected to exceed $5 billion, in which Micron is receiving better treatment than other firms. The list includes help in navigating SEQR (the state’s onerous environmental review law), a steep discount on local property taxes, favorable corporate income tax treatment, access to natural gas and discounted electricity.
The report suggests related reforms that would improve New York’s economic competitiveness and more uniformly make it easier to do business in the state—without counting on special treatment from government officials.
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