By Rick Pluta, Michigan Public Radio Network
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-898628.mp3
LANSING, MI –
A state auditor says too often, businesses that get Michigan tax credits aren't creating all the jobs they promised. State legislators say the problem needs to be fixed.
AUDIO:
The Legislature's Auditor General says companies that get sometimes millions of dollars in tax breaks don't live up to all the promises they make. The report says the Michigan Economic Development Corporation is lax in making sure companies keep their commitment to create jobs.
Republican Senator Jason Allen chairs the state Senate Commerce Committee.
"And so we have to review what the auditor general said and come up with some solutions because I think what he put out has some merit," he says.
But Allen says Michigan would have lost some big development deals to other states without the credits.
The report is another black eye for the state's business development tax credit program. It was revealed recently that the state did not perform background checks on applicants. The program awarded a tax credit to a convicted embezzler who ran his company out of a mobile home park.