Mid-Market Whale Sized Tax Breaks Under Scrutiny

[Photo via Shorenstein]
Twitter gets a tax break, yes, and it amounts to roughly $22 million in savings over six years. But BuzzFeed warns that the quid pro quo of the tax break, that companies donate 30 percent of what they received in tax breaks back to the community—is an "unofficial" figure since city administrators are "encouraging community engagement, not just financial contributions." Such engagement may include, per official Community Benefits Agreement language, to "volunteer in the community and patronize local businesses," promises that are difficult to quantify monetarily. Twitter is not the only large company receiving this benefit, though the amount of money, in exact saving, varies from corporation to corporation. Also on the pay-roll tax exemption list is Facebook subsidiary Zoosk, Yammer, One King's Lane, and 21 Tech.
· How Tech Companies Bought Big Tax Breaks with Promises of Charity [BuzzFeed]
· Why Should Twitter Get all the (Tax) Breaks? [CurbedSF]
· Quid Pro Tweet [CurbedSF]
· Central Market Community Benefits Agreement [SF Public Press]