New York’s generous subsidies to Amazon

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The future site of an Amazon distribution center in Niagara County. Photo by Garrett Looker.

New York in recent years has awarded so many tax breaks and subsidies to Amazon that it now ranks as one of the top states in the nation for doling out assistance to the $2 trillion company.

The state’s more than $700 million in total subsidies to Amazon ranks it fourth in the country, according to a new data analysis by SwitchOnBusiness, a consulting firm. Only Oregon, Virginia and Illinois have given the e-commerce giant more. The consulting firm gathered its information from Good Jobs First, a subsidy watchdog group.

As crews work to build the 3-million square-foot Amazon distribution center in Niagara County, the new report places the hefty public subsidies awarded to the company in a new context. 

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It’s that project in the Town of Niagara — along with the major Amazon project in Monroe County — that helped place New York towards the top of the subsidy ranking list. The Niagara County project netted Amazon $137 million in subsidies from the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency and the New York Power Authority.

The Monroe County project handed Amazon $151 million in subsidies.

The report further details that the Monroe and Niagara county subsidies rank those towns fourth and fifth in the nation, respectively, for the localities that have granted Amazon the greatest amount of tax breaks.

In addition to large property and sales tax breaks, New York has also granted Amazon nearly $170 million in film tax credits for its film and television productions. In December, a state report concluded that subsidy program provided little return on investment.

Read the rest of the report here. And read all of Investigative Post’s Amazon coverage here.

J. Dale Shoemaker