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MSG gets sweeter state tax deal than previously thought, watchdog says

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MSG gets sweeter state tax deal than previously thought, watchdog says

By Zach Williams
March 29, 2023

A state tax break for Madison Square Garden is commonly described as worth $42 million per year — but the actual cost is much higher, according to the city’s Independent Budget Office.

An analysis released Wednesday states the $42 million figure stems from a “conservative” undervaluation of the World’s Most Famous Arena — and bureaucrats do not currently need to figure out its true worth, since venue owner Madison Square Garden Entertainment pays zero taxes in pricy Midtown.

“Knowing the property has a full tax exemption –there is little incentive to devote extensive resources to estimating the fair market value of the arena,” the IBO analysis states.

The assessment will likely provide more fuel for Albany Democrats looking to scrap the giveaway, first approved in 1982, in the state budget due April 1.

“We need money for the MTA. It is on a fiscal cliff due to the drop in ridership from COVID. And we have a private business that’s being treated like a church or a nonprofit entity because it doesn’t pay any property taxes,” state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal (D-Manhattan), who requested IBO crunch the numbers, told The Post.

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Source:  https://nypost.com/2023/03/29/nys-independent-budget-office-finds-msg-42m-tax-break-worth-much-more/

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