You thought the Republican’s plan to punish blue state voters by eliminating their deduction for State Income Taxes, taxes that have built some of the best school systems in the country, thereby slowing our headlong dive into complete idiocracy where red state values reign supreme and handguns are issued with birth certificates and SSNs was the most venal, totalitarian idea ever conceived in a Constitutional Republic ?
Well, O.K, it probably is, but this gem comes in a close second.
“There’s rising worry that corporations are taking over America. But after reviewing a slew of the bids by cities and states wooing Amazon’s massive second headquarters, I don’t think “takeover” quite captures what’s going on.
More like “surrender.”
Chicago has offered to let Amazon pocket $1.32 billion in income taxes paid by its own workers. This is truly perverse. Called a personal income-tax diversion, the workers must still pay the full taxes, but instead of the state getting the money to use for schools, roads or whatever, Amazon would get to keep it all instead.
“The result is that workers are, in effect, paying taxes to their boss,” says a report on the practice from Good Jobs First, a think tank critical of many corporate subsidies.”
Of course many municipalities offer sweeteners when bidding for the kind attentions of Corporations looking to build new facilities, tax abatements, free land, worker training and so on, but why not cut out the middle man and just let them keep the state taxes their worker bees to further fill their coffers?
Having surpassed Bill Gates and the Sultan of Brunei (but perhaps not Putin) in the personal wealth department, Jeff Bezos could still use the bucks to keep the Washington Post afloat, I suppose.
But for that kinda money, I want the Orange Menace turned out of the People’s House and pronto!
Illinois is apparently not satisfied with plans to hand over the keys to your house to Amazon, but are throwing in the keys to the State Treasury as well….