N.Y. Tax Law § 180 – Independent analysis

1. The department shall contract with an economic impact firm for the provision of an independent, comprehensive, analysis of each tax credit, tax deduction, and tax incentive established in this chapter or any other chapter of the law which relates to increasing economic development including, but not necessarily limited to, increasing employment, developing the state's workforce, and increasing business activity. Such analysis shall include the relevant programs run at the state agency level, including relevant programs administered by executive agencies, authorities, commissions, and other government run entities, and shall not include an analysis of individual private entities or individual taxpayers. Such analysis shall include, but need not be limited to, a complete and thorough evaluation of the return on investment for each tax credit, tax deduction, and tax incentive, the economic impact of each relevant program, including direct and indirect benefits, including the creation of temporary project hires, the fiscal impact of each relevant program, including revenues received and forgone by municipalities and New York state, as applicable. For the purposes of this section, "return on investment" shall mean: (a) total job creation, including temporary project hires resulting from each project supported by each relevant program, and retained jobs; (b) whether the expenditures by the state on each tax credit, tax deduction or tax incentive result in an increase or decrease in tax revenues for New York state municipalities, and New York state; (c) other estimated quantifiable economic benefits, including but not necessarily limited to personal income; indirect, induced, long term, and temporary job creation; and private investment for each tax credit, tax deduction and tax incentive; (d) whether similar job creation or private investment would have occurred without the existence of a state tax incentive; and (e) other qualitative economic benefits that improve the economy, and provide opportunities for advancement for New York residents, including: (i) global media exposure; (ii) increased tourism attraction and positioning of New York as a destination, providing quality of life amenities to assist with community development, placemaking, positioning communities for add-on private sector investment, making New York competitive on the basis of cost and other attraction amenities; and (iii) contributing to the positive perception of the state and its regions to assist with business attraction and creating economic opportunity for New Yorkers.
2. Prior to the analysis pursuant to subdivision one of this section, the economic impact firm that the department contracts with may solicit input from leaders in the business community, organized labor and economic development stakeholders, including, but not necessarily limited to representatives from nonprofits, academic institutions, and leading New York state community development experts.
3. Such analysis shall be completed and submitted to the department no later than January first, two thousand twenty-four and shall be posted publicly on the department's website within thirty days of submission to the department. The analysis shall also be submitted to the governor, the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, and the chair of the senate finance committee and the chair of the assembly ways and means committee.
4. The economic impact firm providing the department's comprehensive analysis shall adhere to the requirements in this subdivision. Notwithstanding this subdivision, the department may contract with a firm upon a written determination by the commissioner which shall detail that such firm was awarded such contract on the basis that no firm meets the requirements set forth in this subdivision.
1. (a) Such economic impact firm shall be prohibited from providing analysis services to the department if the analysis partner having primary responsibility for the analysis, or the analysis partner responsible for reviewing the analysis, has performed analysis services for the department in the past three fiscal years.
2. (b) Such economic impact firm shall be prohibited from performing any non-analysis services to the department contemporaneously with the analysis, including: (i) bookkeeping or other services related to the accounting records or financial statements of such department; (ii) financial information systems design and implementation; (iii) appraisal or valuation services, fairness opinions, or contribution-in-kind reports; (iv) actuarial services; (v) internal analysis outsourcing services; (vi) management functions or human services; (vii) broker or dealer, investment advisor, or investment banking services; and (viii) legal services and expert services unrelated to the analysis.
3. (c) Such economic impact firm shall be prohibited from providing analysis services to the department if an employee assigned to the analysis has performed analysis services for the department or has been employed by the department in the past three fiscal years.