More from John Edward
I can’t get over my bitterness that members of our legislature, led by Sal DiMasi, caved in to the business community and seem to have squashed the optional hotel/meals tax provision of the Governor’s Municipal Partnership Act (Is it over? I’ve been out of town and, despite much googling, I can’t seem to figure out if it’s completely dead or not). I think the Corporate Tax Loophole portion of the bill is still alive, but it looks like it may suffer the same fate.
Even worse is the prognosis by my new favorite columnist, John Edward, who in yesterday’s Lowell Sun gives us more of his refreshing viewpoint on taxes. Despite numerous studies that show that taxes are not a primary factor when choosing where to locate, politicians continue to resist closing corporate tax loopholes and to advocate for corporate tax incentives to boost job growth. According to Edward, all the candidates for the 5th Congressional district support the latter notion. Yet, consider this from Edward’s column:
“Surveys that ask business leaders how they choose a location do not identify taxes as a primary motivator. Statistical analyses of the impact of state tax incentives show very little contribution to the economy. In fact, the economic benefits of such incentives are less than the lost tax revenue.”
Finally, Edward points out that Massachusetts has “one of the lowest corporate tax burdens in the country.” As for the loopholes targeted by the Municipal Partnership Act, Edward exempts emerging industries (such as nanotechnology), but:
“In contrast, the tax loopholes the governor wants to close are unintended benefits that companies have learned to exploit. They reward clever accounting rather than innovative product development.”