Deadline for our July issue: June 25.
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An urgent reminder from Sue Walton:
All conference registrations and hotel reservations MUST in by June 21, 2004.
Please, do not delay. Let's repeat this important message -
All conference registrations and hotel reservations MUST in by June 21, 2004.
For more information, contact Sue Walton at swalton@surfbest.net or visit the CGO website at http://www.progress.org/cgo
SPAC will emphasize the sustainable management of the environment as a prerequisite to sustainable livelihood and development. It is a 12-member committee comprising the Permanent Secretaries of several government ministries. Gordon will be representing NGOs/Civil Society organizations on SPAC.
Gordon said, "The programme will fully take off next year when the World Bank and the State Government meet their financial obligations. Only nine of the 36 states of the Federation will benefit from this programme in its beginning phase."
Complete conference details and registration information are available at: http://www.localcurrency.org
The event is sponsored by the E. F. Schumacher Society.
Here is an article by Arthur Kane in the Denver Post, dated May 2, 2004, and condensed for the Georgist News by Ed Dodson of the School of Cooperative Individualism.
"Businesses cash in, but auditors unable to prove state program has saved or created jobs"
But 18 years after its controversial creation, state audits are still unable to determine whether any jobs have been created as a direct result of the tax breaks provided to companies investing in new equipment or hiring new workers.
And while roughly 1,500 companies participating in the program hired about 1,000 new employees statewide last year, the tax breaks they received totaled $29 million.
For Colorado taxpayers facing budget cuts in health care, parks and schools, that amounts to $29,000 per job. Between 1989 and 2002, the state lost $337 million in tax revenue to the program, state audits show.
"It's a form of corporate welfare," said state Sen. Ron Tupa, D-Boulder. "This is costing the taxpayers for the benefit of that company."
Evan Metcalf, state enterprise zone coordinator, said that on the whole, the credits create jobs and improve business conditions.
"We hear from a lot of companies that these credits are crucial in deciding whether to expand in Colorado," he said. "It depends on who you talk to."
The state's enterprise zone tax credit program was created in 1986 to encourage businesses to locate in economically depressed areas and create more jobs.
But reports over the years by the state auditor say there is no way to prove the program is helping economic conditions in the designated areas. "It is important to note that none of our analyses, including this one, establish a direct causal relationship between the Enterprise Zone Program and changes in overall economic conditions in the zones," a 2002 state audit said.
The tax credits are particularly lucrative because, unlike deductions that change the amount of income that is taxed, credits are deducted dollar for dollar from any state corporate income tax a company owes.
As a result, some companies fight hard for the credit even when they are not located in an economically depressed area. To qualify for the credit, a company must submit a form to the local enterprise zone administrator, who makes sure the business is in the zone. The business can then claim the credits on its tax returns without further documentation. Companies can use the credits in future years if they have more credits than taxes owed.
One problem with the enterprise zone tax credits is that there are few checks and balances.
Local governments appoint the enterprise zone administrators, who are often nonprofit economic development corporation officials and not government employees. Those officials do not check whether the filings are accurate.
The only time the credits would be scrutinized is if a company's state income tax return is audited. Colorado Department of Revenue spokeswoman Diane Reimer said companies claiming enterprise zone credits are not audited more often than a typical company, and the department has not found more problems with the credit-taking companies when they are audited.
Gov. Bill Owens has urged the legislature to reform the enterprise zone program.
"I believe that Colorado should ... re-evaluate more broadly the entire enterprise zone program," Owens said last year in his veto message on an enterprise zone bill that would have extended the life of the credits to companies currently getting them.
House Speaker Lola Spradley, R-Beulah, said a committee meeting over the summer may address the issue.
Some of the companies that receive the tax breaks say they are integral in decisions about hiring and adding equipment.
Despite the anecdotal evidence from some companies, the enterprise zone areas are poorer and create fewer jobs than the rest of the state.
"Overall, we found that the non-zone areas continue to be more competitive than zone areas in relation to overall employment growth ... and per-capita income," the 2002 audit said.
Twenty-six seminars and workshops will focus on four different themes, all developed under the campaign heading of "Changing our behaviour: informed choices for a greener Europe". Green Week will also host an exhibition - with booths that feature best practices, projects and partnerships - and an environmental awards ceremony. For the first time, a sustainable stock market will be in operation where visitors will be able to buy and sell stocks in sustainable and non-sustainable companies.
For more information, visit: http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/greenweek/index_en.htm
The World Urban Forum is designed specifically to provide space for a wide range of organizations to enter a dialogue on the challenges facing cities today.
For more information, visit: http://www.un-habitat.org/
The event will include workshops on poverty eradication, infrastructure, and other topics.
For more information email gmiddleton@stakeholderforum.org or visit http://www.stakeholderforum.org
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