The Complicated Business of Evaluating Tax Incentives

Eileen McAnneny, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, says that most of the tax credits the state gives out don't specify expectations for the employer. She argues that giving Bump access to tax returns would yield "very subjective" results. "For example, was the brownfields tax credit enacted to create jobs, clean-up contaminated sites or to facilitate economic development?" she says. "Its effectiveness could vary widely depending on the criteria you are using to evaluate it."