A national watchdog group gave Tennessee, Georgia and 11 other states failing grades Wednesday for not disclosing enough information to the public about tax breaks, grants and other assistance to businesses considering locating in their states.
Good Jobs First of Washington D.C., a nonprofit group that tracks government aid to business, said states too often don’t report information about the subsidies they award.
“We think it is critical for taxpayers to know how their money is being spent and which companies are getting what type of assistance,” said Phil Mattera, research director for Good Jobs First and the principal author of a study on state subsidies released Wednesday.
Mark Drury, assistant commissioner for Tennessee’s Department of Economic and Community Development, said the Volunteer State has been successful in recruiting more than $34 billion in new and expanded business investment and adding 197,000 jobs in the past eight years while maintaining relatively low taxes overall.
“We’re proud of those numbers and believe they are a better measure of the progress we’ve made in making Tennessee a good place to live and work,” Drury said.