Thursday, October 27, 2005

Now here's a truly unfair tax break for the wealthy

Court Upholds $3.5 Million in Tax Breaks for Clinton Library Construction

The Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the legality of $3.5 million in tax breaks given to the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation to build the Clinton Presidential Library.

The state's highest court heard arguments in the case — originally brought by the Clinton Foundation against the state Department of Economic Development in July 2002 — earlier this month.

At issue was a Pulaski County circuit judge's ruling last year that said the foundation qualified for economic incentives under the Arkansas Enterprise Zone Act of 1993. The decision by Circuit Judge Willard Proctor Jr. said ADED erred when it blocked the foundation's application for incentives on the grounds that the act did not allow nonprofits such as the Clinton Foundation to receive incentives.

“It’s the state’s contention that this program is not applicable to nonprofits,” former ADED Director Jim Pickens told Arkansas Business in 2002. “We took this to the Department of Finance and Administration to get the opinion of their attorneys, and they substantiated our opinion.”

Foundation leaders disagreed, and when Pickens refused to hold a formal hearing on the matter, they sued.

ADED appealed Proctor's 2004 decision to the Supreme Court, which finally heard arguments on the matter on Oct. 6.

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