Show Us the Local Subsidies
Type
Policy Brief or Report
Year
2013
Level
City or Town, County
State(s)
All States
Policy Areas
Democracy & Governance
This report explores disclosure practices for certain types of subsidies per locality and provides a grade for those programs based on the quality of company-specific disclosures. The report finds that two-thirds of the economic development subsidy programs run by the nation's largest cities and counties do not use the web to report which companies are receiving the tax breaks and other forms of financial assistance. Among the third of programs that do practice online transparency, most do so poorly, failing to disclose the dollar value of the subsidies. An even smaller number reveal key outcomes such as how many jobs were created.