| From Reuters: New York City's tax breaks to spur commercial property projects more than doubled over the last 10 years, rising to about $500 million in the last fiscal year, according to a report.Growth in the tax incentives, however, is expected to slow due to reforms the state enacted at Mayor Michael Bloomberg's request, the Independent Budget Office said in the report.The city's economic development arm had found that only about one out of every four projects would not have been built without the benefits, which offer tax breaks to property developers for as long as 25 years.
The cutbacks could be a bitter pill for developers already struggling to get financing from banks that have become much less enthusiastic about real estate loans.The Independent Budget Office said its study "provides strong evidence that (the) Industrial and Commercial Incentive Program benefited a far broader group with more generous benefits than might have been necessary to meet the policy goal.".... Full Article: Source
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