Makers or Breakers of Communities: The Effect of PA 198 Property Tax Breaks

9:30 am-2:00 pm, Wednesday, January 23, 2008 – Lansing Center

For more than three decades local governments have used property tax breaks to provide incentives for manufacturers to build new plants, expand existing plants, renovate aging plants or add new machinery and equipment. Yet, policy analysts continue to question the effectiveness of property tax abatements as economic development tools.

So what are the pros and cons of this legislation and how can communities use tax abatements efficiently and effectively? To find the answers join Gary Sands, Laura Reese, John Czarnecki and Greg LeRoy as they discuss how PA 198 tax breaks have affected communities in the past and what to expect from the inclusion of high-technology activity, as defined by the Michigan Economic Growth Authority (MEGA) Act, to the definition of industrial property. Afterward, a panel of local officials will discuss the use of PA 198 and other tax incentives as tools to attract and retain business in their communities.

About the Speakers
Gary Sands, Professor of Geography & Urban Planning, Wayne State University
Laura A. Reese, Director, Global Urban Studies Program; Professor, Political Science, Michigan State University
John Czarnecki, President and CEO of the Clinton County Economic Alliance
Greg LeRoy, Executive Director, “Good Jobs First”; Washington DC

Panel
Robert L. Trezise, Jr., President & CEO, Lansing Economic Development Corporation
Peter Stalker, City Manager, Cadillac
Lori Bluhm, City Attorney, Troy

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