NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon will not take advantage of a federal program offering massive tax breaks when it builds its headquarters in New York City.
The internet giant told the City Council this week that it will not directly benefit from the Opportunity Zone program offering big cuts on federal capital gains taxes as a way to spur development in downtrodden areas.
Parts of Amazon's new headquarters site in the Long Island City neighborhood were designated as one of 8,700 low-income zones around the country that qualify for the incentives.
While Amazon doesn't intend to tap the tax breaks, developers and investment funds associated with headquarters could still do so.
Critics of the Opportunity Zone program say many zones are in a gentrifying area that would have attracted private investment without the tax breaks.
