08/04/05
We've all been reading about the local tax breaks granted recently by officials for large real estate development corporations. Their projects are called Seneca Place, Cayuga Green and the Gateway Plaza, and these corporations tell us that their projects would fail unless their local taxes are greatly reduced. And, as reported, they will use the tax abatements to guarantee their profits. If the real estate investment projects have solid business plans, let the owners and investors take the business risk just like the rest of us do. Would you start a business if you didn't think that you could make money? This is corporate welfare, pure and simple, and it transfers these huge tax bills right onto the backs of the rest of us.
I would like to speak for thousands of taxpayers here and hereby apply for tax breaks for us all. The standard abatement package will do. Ten years of generous tax reductions on our property here in Ithaca - how does that sound to you? The taxpayers in Ithaca would very much appreciate the standard corporate abatement package, so that we can put the thousands of dollars for each of us over the 10-year period to good productive use. What would you do with your tax abatement money? Buy food, medical care, save for retirement or pay school tuition? Where do we apply? Who can we elect?
Brian Sullivan
City of Ithaca
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