What Corporate Tax Breaks Mean for School Funding
Tax abatement deals given to corporations led to at least $2.37 billion in lost revenue intended for U.S. public school districts in 2019, a new report says.
In 149 U.S. school districts, tax breaks given to corporations led to school funding losses of at least $1,000 per student, according to a new report.
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In 2014, when electric carmaker Tesla dangled the prospect of building a $5 billion “Gigafactory” in one lucky state, it triggered a multi-state bidding war.
Nevada’s winning bid included $1.3 billion in tax breaks and incentives spread out over 20 years, including sales tax exemptions estimated to be worth $725 million and $300 million more in payroll and other tax breaks. For the local Storey County School District, that forfeited tax revenue added up to $38.6 million in 2017 alone. But the district’s funding is set to go up beginning in 2024, when certain breaks expire. Responding to criticism of the abatement deal in 2018, the county’s school superintendent said that the district would ultimately come out ahead, because the mining-dependent region will benefit from economic diversification and new technical education programs.