Experts tell Michigan subcommittee mega tax credits show mixed effectiveness, recommend tighter rules

Patrick Anderson of Anderson Economic Group told the Oversight - Corporate Subsidies and State Investments subcommittee that state tax incentives show “wide variation in the effectiveness of the programs” and urged lawmakers to ask tougher questions before approving subsidies.

Anderson said his firm cataloged dozens of Michigan incentive programs and examined eight of the most prominent. "This is an important question. We are taking the people's money. You, the legislature, are the...person that governs the purse, and you ought to be asking good questions about not only taxes, but tax incentives," Anderson said.

Why it matters: Anderson said effective incentives should address concrete cost disadvantages and support…