New Jersey

Perhaps lawmakers are beginning to realize that an economic policy based on tax incentives is especially prone to political favoritism. From The Express-Times:

Wary of losing revenue, city council members Tuesday put the brakes on plans to apply tax incentives to new properties.

Councilman Joseph Leeson Jr. said before he votes to OK changes to the 20-year-old LERTA program, he wants to see an analysis of how much investment the incentives have spurred compared to the tax dollars lost.

LERTA stands for Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance and applies only to commercial and industrial property.

Leeson also asked for the names of property owners who would benefit from 10 proposed LERTA boundary changes. He and council President J. Michael Schweder voiced concern the changes were tailored to benefit certain people. A committee of business representatives recommended the new boundaries.

The problem is that rather than correct the situation by offering everyone a low tax rate that incentivizes investment, bureaucrats will resort back to uniform but high tax scheme. See "[w]ary of losing tax revenue . . . ."