Chattanoogans in Action for Love, Equity, and Benevolence will host a presentation for candidates and constituents entitled, Tax Breaks, Transparency, and Accountability on Friday at 7 p.m. via Zoom. This event will be part of the Unity Group of Chattanooga’s 51st annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Week of Celebration.
The presentation will focus on the current process for granting corporate tax incentives such as PILOTs (Payment In Lieu of Taxes) and TIFs (Tax Increment Financing) agreements that are used to draw investment to Chattanooga. Members of CALEB believe that these agreements, despite being facilitated with public funds, generally receive little scrutiny or public input before they are approved. Members of the group will present the need for greater transparency in the process of negotiating these agreements, and ask that the city government adopt strong criteria for their approval.
“Last year we saw a vigorous debate about where we put city money,” said Geoff Meldahl, a CALEB delegate from Ironworkers Local 704, “but we rarely examine why our budget is as limited as it is, and tax incentives are a big part of that. We want to make sure candidates for city office understand that unscrutinized giveaways can’t continue and to empower their constituents to demand greater accountability.”
The virtual presentation is open to all members of the public, and can be accessed through CALEB’s Facebook page or via the Zoom registration link: https://tinyurl.com/calebDWUevent
More information about the #DevelopWithUsCampaign can be found here:
www.calebcha.org/developwithus