Tax Abatement

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the impact of business property tax abatements on public school funding. GAO found that the impact of property tax abatements on public school funding was unclear and debatable because: (1) few states maintained the necessary data to properly assess the impact of tax abatements on school funding; (2) of varying economic circumstances and tax policies among states, local governments, and school districts; and (3) it was difficult to determine if business and economic growth would have occurred without tax abatements.