Washington, D.C. — The American Economic Liberties Project released the following statement in response to Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Utah and West Virginia formally announcing legislation to form an interstate compact to phase out corporate tax giveaways.

“We applaud the lawmakers across the country standing up to big corporations and telling them that enough is enough,” said Pat Garofalo, Director of State and Local Policy at Economic Liberties. “If passed, these bills would liberate state and local lawmakers from the endless cycle of big corporations blackmailing them into turning over precious public dollars. By bringing transparency to a system currently based on secrecy, the compact is working to build a model of economic development that benefits small businesses, consumers, workers, and communities — not just America’s biggest corporations.”

The compact would outlaw using taxpayer money or other economic privileges to poach an existing business in another compact state. It also includes a set of transparency measures aimed at bringing democratic accountability to a policy area currently plagued by backroom dealing.

“Whether it’s subsidies and other favors for Amazon warehouses, Facebook data centers, or factories for Tesla and Foxconn, it’s clear that the race to the bottom amongst states hasn’t delivered economic results,” said Garofalo. “An interstate compact is a key first step to eliminating this failed approach to economic policy once and for all.”

Learn more about Economic Liberties here.

###

Economic Liberties works to ensure America’s system of commerce is structured to advance, rather than undermine, economic liberty, fair commerce, and a secure, inclusive democracy. AELP believes true economic liberty means entrepreneurs and businesses large and small succeed on the merits of their ideas and hard work; commerce empowers consumers, workers, farmers, and engineers instead of subjecting them to discrimination and abuse from financiers and monopolists; foreign trade arrangements support domestic security and democracy; and wealth is broadly distributed to support equitable political power.