Articles tagged: corporate welfare
Texas’ Largest Corporate Welfare Program Is Leaving Companies Flush and School Districts Broke
The state’s Chapter 313 program offers steep discounts on property taxes to attract big industrial projects that are supposed to pay off over the long term. But by the time these projects return to the tax rolls, much of that value has disappeared.
As the United States struggled to meet demands for fuel in the early 2000s, Motiva Enterprises decided to double the capacity of its oil refinery in the Gulf Co...Read More
Study: Texas Spent $4.4 Billion Luring Businesses That Were Coming to the State Anyway
About 85 percent of the projects that received tax breaks through the Chapter 313 program didn’t need the incentive, according to a new study.
About 85 percent of the projects that received tax breaks through the Chapter 313 program didn’t need the incentive, according to a new study....Read More
Texas’ Largest Corporate Welfare Program is Rapidly Ballooning
The program will cost taxpayers at least $8.5 billion over its lifetime, according to an Observer analysis.
The program will cost taxpayers at least $8.5 billion over its lifetime, according to an Observer analysis....Read More
The Five Foulest Texas Environmental Stories of 2016
Lowlights include failing to track chemical spills during floods and rejecting the link between earthquakes and fracking.
Thanks to investigative reporting, this year we learned of new ways the powerful in this state are messing with Texas. From failing to oversee toxic waste injec...Read More
Rationale for Texas’ Largest Corporate Welfare Program was a ‘Typographical Error’
What if Texas blew billions of dollars because someone misread an obscure business report 15 years ago? In March, the Observer took a close look at the state’...Read More
Once Again, School District Shuts Down Tax Break for Gas Exporter
For the second straight year, the Point Isabel ISD board rejected a tax break for a company hoping to ship liquefied natural gas from Brownsville....Read More
Free Lunch
Forget about the governor’s slush funds. Texas’ biggest corporate welfare program is one you’ve probably never heard of — and it’s growing every year.
Texas' largest corporate welfare program lets school districts give away unlimited tax breaks — more than $7 billion so far — with only loose state oversigh...Read More
Rick Perry Seeks to Keep Details of Toyota Incentives Secret
Rick Perry’s office refuses to release any information about the $40 million it’s offering Toyota to relocate to Texas, despite providing the Observer with ...Read More
Rick Perry Wasted $40 Million on Toyota
Rick Perry gave Toyota $40 million to relocate to Texas from California but a company executive says Toyota was coming anyway....Read More