COLUMBUS, OH –Columbus City Council Candidate Joe Motil and longtime outspoken critic of the city’s tax abatement policies was encouraged to see that other reputable U.S. news organizations are reporting about the counterproductive and unnecessary use of tax abatements to Fortune 500 companies and their subsidiaries that take place nearly on a daily basis here in Columbus, Ohio. An article in today’s Bloomberg Businessweek titled, “When Midwest Startups Sell, Their Hometown Schools Often Lose” talked about the Columbus Education Associations (CEA) decision to protest Columbus City Councils $55 million tax abatement giveaway to CoverMyMeds. CoverMyMeds is owned by pharmaceutical giant the McKesson Corporation which reports profits of $2 billion most years.

The articled stated, “this spring, McKesson moved its own headquarters from San Francisco to Irving, Texas, without getting a dime to do so. (It was offered incentives earlier in its development in Texas but didn't meet requirements needed to collect them)." Indiana's school’s superintendent Jennifer McCormick says, “The abatements in Indiana are a killer." CEA President John Coneglio stated, “You are subsidizing an entity that's going to do what it wants anyway and giving away dollars that could educate your local population to higher level or build your transportation system to make the region more vibrant."         

Motil stated, “ It's ironic that Coneglio made such a comment about transportation for the Bloomberg story when in today's Columbus Dispatch an article titled, "Your ride is here" discussed how tax abatement recipient corporations like CoverMyMeds, Huntington Bank, Limited Brands, Alliance Data and others provide free rides for their employees to and from work through a ride service named Share.

Motil concludes that, “This is another example of how tax abatements work for the rich and powerful of Columbus and why Columbus has never been in a hurry to provide a sufficient mass transit system for the working middle class. It's all about taking care of The Columbus Partnership and developers. City Council’s corporate Democrats are fueled by The Partnerships and developers campaign contributions to keep them in office. This allows them to continue providing record profits for its shareholders on the backs of the taxpayers.”