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September 9, 2008
“Gaming the Tax Code: Public Subsidies, Private Profits, and Big League Sports in New York"
No, that's not the name of a new book by Neil deMause and Joanna Cagan. Even better, it's the title that the U.S. House of Representatives' Domestic Policy Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (Dem-OH), has given to a hearing it will hold next week on efforts by the Yankees, Mets and, yes, the Nets, to fund their new playplaces at the expense of the taxpayers.
And that can't be too comforting to the Steinbrenners, the Wilpons or Bruce Ratner.
Specifically, the hearing will address whether efforts to finance new stadiums for the New York Yankees and New York Mets and a new arena for the New Jersey Nets by issuing federally tax-exempt bonds advance the public interest; whether the U.S. Department of Treasury’s rulemaking has been consistent with the Tax Reform Act of 1986; and the legal, policy, and economic implications of the existing and proposed IRS rules regulating the structure of payments of lieu of taxes (PILOTs) permitted to finance projects funded by the issuance of federally tax-exempt bonds (i.e., the PILOT rule).
The hearing will also address alleged misrepresentations made to the IRS and investors related to the assessment of the new Yankee Stadium, whether these alleged misrepresentations affect the tax-exempt status of the bonds issued to finance construction of the stadium, and whether these alleged misrepresentations are an outgrowth of the incentives provided to state and municipal stakeholders by the PILOT rule.
Read the complete Media Advisory after the jump.
For Immediate Release:
Contact: Nathan White (202) 225-5871
Media Advisory: Hearing on Financing of New York Stadiums
Washington D.C. (September 8, 2008) – The Domestic Policy Subcommittee of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold a hearing, “Gaming the Tax Code: Public Subsidies, Private Profits, and Big League Sports in New York,” on Thursday, September 18, 2008, at 10:00 a.m. in 2154 Rayburn House Office Building.
This will be the third hearing held by the Domestic Policy Subcommittee examining whether the use of the federal tax code to subsidize the construction of professional sports stadiums and arenas furthers the public interest, and the first to examine alleged improprieties in the financing process.
Specifically, the hearing will address whether efforts to finance new stadiums for the New York Yankees and New York Mets and a new arena for the New Jersey Nets by issuing federally tax-exempt bonds advance the public interest; whether the U.S. Department of Treasury’s rulemaking has been consistent with the Tax Reform Act of 1986; and the legal, policy, and economic implications of the existing and proposed IRS rules regulating the structure of payments of lieu of taxes (PILOTs) permitted to finance projects funded by the issuance of federally tax-exempt bonds (i.e., the PILOT rule).
The hearing will also address alleged misrepresentations made to the IRS and investors related to the assessment of the new Yankee Stadium, whether these alleged misrepresentations affect the tax-exempt status of the bonds issued to finance construction of the stadium, and whether these alleged misrepresentations are an outgrowth of the incentives provided to state and municipal stakeholders by the PILOT rule.
Posted by eric at September 9, 2008 6:23 PM