Tulsa World: Are Wind Farm Tax Incentives Worth the Price?
Wind farms in Oklahoma: Are tax incentives worth the price?
By MICHAEL OVERALL World Staff Writer
One side considers it a corporate welfare program that the state can no longer afford. The other describes it as an investment that will pay off in the long-term.
The debate will play out this year in the Oklahoma Legislature, where lawmakers are reconsidering the taxpayer-funded incentives that have lured more than two dozen wind developments to the state in recent years.
The industry has drawn lawmakers’ attention with campaign contributions, giving more than $100,000 to candidates’ committees since 2012. It has also formed several political action committees and doled out contributions to at least 69 candidates since the 2006 election.
As lawmakers debate whether to continue granting incentives to the industry, the Tulsa World asked two experts to make the case for and against the subsidies.