According to recently released records on the performance of the New York State Empire Zones, the state gave the Rochester area about $64 million in tax breaks between 2003 and 2005 in exchange for 3,631 jobs. That’s a cost of $17,625/job, which is about the state average. Unfortunately, we’re way behind Buffalo, a city often held up as an example of the “rust belt”, in job creation. Worse, since the state continues to spend at the same rate, that tax shortfall has to be made up somehow. Guess who ends up really paying for Empire Zones. No wonder the state was reluctant to divulge the numbers.
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