California bill increasing scrutiny on tax breaks for businesses goes to Gov. Brown’s desk

[unhappycamper]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/08/19/california-bill-increasing-scrutiny-on-tax-breaks-for-businesses-goes-to-gov-browns-desk/



California bill increasing scrutiny on tax breaks for businesses goes to Gov. Brown’s desk
By Reuters
Tuesday, August 19, 2014 20:53 EDT
By Sharon Bernstein

SACRAMENTO Calif. (Reuters) – Tax credits aimed at persuading businesses to locate in California would be subject to detailed performance reviews to make sure they are boosting the state’s economy under a bill passed on Tuesday by the Legislature.

The bill, which will now go to Democratic Governor Jerry Brown, aims to measure the effectiveness of tax credits. The issue is in the public eye at a time of controversy over proposals to grant nearly $1 billion in tax relief to entertainment and aerospace businesses.

“Who among us in investing our personal dollars would not have a goal in mind and plan to review the investment to see if it’s meeting the goal?” said state Senator Mark Leno, a Democrat from San Francisco and the bill’s author. “You would call any personal investor who didn’t minimally attend to that a fool.”

The bill requires new tax credits offered by the most populous U.S. state to include specific measurable goals such as the number of jobs created by its recipients or the boost that their presence in the state gives the economy.

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A novel idea - measure stuff to see if it did what it was supposed to do.