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EDGE tax credit program to be restored

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Illinois

It looks like Illinois is finally getting back its most important job-creating incentives tool.

More than three months after Edge program—Economic Development for a Growing Economy tax credits—expired, caught up in the partisan warfare over the state budget, lawmakers on Aug. 13 are set to take final action to restore the program. And I’m told that everybody involved, including Gov. Bruce Rauner, is on board.

Scheduled for a vote in the Senate is a measure sponsored by Rep. Michael Zalewski, D-Chicago, that would somewhat reduce the value of the payroll tax credit and focus the program more on helping bring new jobs to impoverished area, but still put the development tool back in the state’s toolbox. […]

Sources tell me Rauner, who’d wanted changes in the old policy, is now happy enough that he’ll sign the bill.

In fact, Bush said the GOP governor got everything he wanted except a clause allowing recipients to sell or transfer Edge credits to someone else. “We certainly can work that out at a later time,” she said.

I’m not a huge fan of the program. It essentially allows companies to pocket their workers’ state payroll tax. But when you’re as sorry as this state is at economic development, you gotta do what you gotta do. And it has worked in the past.

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Aug 11, 17 @ 3:52 pm

Comments

The reality is that EDGE is only important because everyone else does it. Illinois needs it to be competitive in the marketplace. In a perfect world the ridiculous incentives would be banned at the federal level, but that’s not exactly possible. At least we aren’t devoting $3b to a factory that will never be built…

Comment by Bruce Please Friday, Aug 11, 17 @ 4:02 pm
How do the Edge dollars compare to workman comp premiums? I do not trust how Edge credits will be distributed. I saw games played with New Market Tax Credits.

Comment by Last Bull Moose Friday, Aug 11, 17 @ 4:22 pm

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