An Oregon consumer group says that data on the state’s corporate tax subsidies needs to be more detailed to demonstrate the public good.
A new law requires the state provide data on four corporate tax programs. The programs are expected to cost taxpayers about $300 million this biennium.
Analysis by the Oregon Public Interest Research Group found that the information the state has made available, is insufficient to gauge the value of the subsidies.
OSPIRG director David Rosenfeld explains, "None of the reports that we saw had both a required outcome and an actual outcome for each corporation that got a tax subsidy. That's like hiring a plumber without telling him what his job is. Or paying the plumber without checking to see if he did the job that you hired him to do to begin with."
Derrick Gasperini of the Oregon Department of Revenue says some information cannot be released because it's about specific businesses and is tied to their tax returns, which are confidential.
