* The public will soon get a narrow glimpse at who cashed in on the largest corporate tax giveaway in Tennessee history. Beginning tomorrow, May 31, the Tennessee Department of Revenue<
https://www.tn.gov/revenue/2024franchisetax.html> will release a limited list of companies that requested a piece of Gov.
Bill Lee’s unprecedented $1.5 billion corporate refund program — a scheme passed with no court ruling, no formal lawsuit, and no public accountability.
* This is the only time the public will have access to these names — the list disappears after June 30.
* These refunds stem from a Republican-led law signed by Gov. Lee in 2024<
https://tennesseelookout.com/2024/04/26/tennessee-lawmakers-agree-to-a-second-billion-dollar-tax-break-for-businesses-in-as-many-years/> that eliminated the property-based portion of the state’s franchise tax — a move tax experts<
https://tennesseelookout.com/2024/01/29/tax-expert-tennessee-is-caving-to-businesses-on-tax-cut-and-1b-refunds-offers-another-option/> warned was unnecessary and fiscally irresponsible.
* Instead of fighting for Tennessee taxpayers, Lee caved to corporate demands contained in a letter, not a lawsuit, and approved up to $1.55 billion in handouts to corporations — most of them headquartered out of state.
* While amended tax returns and refund claims are confidential, the law requires the Department of Revenue to publish:
* The name of each taxpayer that received a refund
* A refund amount bracket:
* $750 or less
* $751 to $10,000
* More than $10,000
* If the claim is still pending, only the name will be listed with no refund range.
* The list will be posted May 31 through June 30 on the Department of Revenue’s website. After that, the public loses access — permanently.
Budget deficit grows, families see no tax relief as corporate handout is finalized
* In addition to the billion-dollar handout, the law enacting the giveaway included an annual corporate tax break worth $4 billion over the next decade ($400 million a year).
* But less than a year later, corporations have paid nearly $860 million less in taxes than they did the year before. And while state budget wonks expected lower business tax revenue, the reality has been worse—collections are nearly $400 million below target for the year to date.
* The end result is that Tennessee is now running its largest budget deficit of the fiscal year. And deficits make it difficult to plan for needed investments in health care, transportation and neighborhood schools — or tax relief for working families.
* So Gov. Lee and the Republican Party chose to hand out billions to corporations while refusing to cut the grocery tax for working families.
* Adding insult to neglect, more than half of the refund dollars<
https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2024/04/23/majority-of-1-5-billion-franchise-refunds-set-to-go-out-of-tennessee-records-show/73414899007/> are expected to go to companies with out-of-state headquarters.
* This was never about legal compliance. It was about caving to corporate lobbyists and prioritizing CEO tax breaks over Tennessee families.
Media, advocates, and watchdogs: Bookmark the Department of Revenue website<
https://www.tn.gov/revenue.html>. Download the list. Save it. Report on it. Because after June 30, the names vanish — just like Tennessee tax dollars.