Governor Kathy Hochul's Fiscal Year 2024 Executive Budget proposes a five-year extension for a package of New York City tax incentives that cost the City $44 million in annual foregone revenue. CBC's newest blog, No Extension without Evaluation, recommends rejecting the proposed extensions because two have not been evaluated for effectiveness and efficiency, and the NYC Independent Budget Office found the other two to be ineffective. Tax incentives should not be continued absent a rigorous evaluation and an analysis demonstrating the need to meet current and future goals. 

The programs—the Commercial Revitalization Program, the Commercial Expansion Program, the Lower Manhattan Sales and Use Tax Exemption, and the Energy Cost Savings Program—were intended to increase the development and occupancy rate of commercial real estate by attracting and retaining office and retail tenants in specific areas, particularly Lower Manhattan and the Garment District. Enacted by New York State in 1995 and 2000, the programs have been renewed repeatedly by the State Legislature even as the City’s economy overall and in these areas evolved.