I don’t have a huge problem with business tax abatements, but they need to be smart.
When I lived in Mt. Clemens, I once had a City Council candidate come to my door. I asked him about a tax abatement they had given to a large employer in town.
The company was an auto supplier, depression hit and they asked for a 15 year abatement. Of course, the Step’n Fetchit’s in the Council gave them their abatement.
I asked why they didn’t do it in five year increments and he hemmed and hawed. He didn’t get my vote.
“Business Subsidies”
Another way of saying taxes and regulations are too high in the first place.
I always vote against tax breaks for some special group. The budget doesn’t change so the taxes for everyone else go up. If government realizes that taxes are bad for one group, then they are bad for all groups. Giving one group a break creates a perpetual special interest in maintaining their special status. The one thing that is never considered is whether all the budget items the taxes paid for are even within the charter of the government to do. Eliminate those things that shouldn’t even be there and perhaps you can give an across-the-board tax break. (I’ve never seen that.)