Zach Schiller's July 2002 study scrutinizes Ohio Job Creation Tax credits to major food retailers Wal-Mart and Kroger. In 2001, the state of Ohio promised $10 million in tax breaks to Wal-Mart to establish distribution and manufacturing facilities in the state. These incentives were promised despite the fact that proposed food distribution centers (as they could only serve retailers within a 150-mile radius) were likely to locate in Ohio, and that construction had begun on one project before incentives were approved. The brief also examines a $1.38 million tax credit to Kroger for a new distribution center that replaced older facilities elsewhere in Ohio. Schiller uses these examples to question whether tax credits are being given unnecessarily, and makes recommendations to tighten the approval process.

Critics: State Misuses Tax Deals
Columbus Dispatch. July 9, 02

Quiet Crisis Averted: State Grants Hot Dog Vendor $400,000 to Halt Out-of-State Move
A Cleveland Scene satire, July 24, 02

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