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$4.6 MILLION IN TAX CREDITS TO EX-CIETC BOARD MEMBER

March 21, 2007

If you want to know who really benefits from targeted tax credits, the Des Moines Register gives you a hint this morning:

Polk County Supervisor John Mauro will receive $4.6 million in tax credits to build a low-income, senior-housing project in Des Moines.

The tax credits were awarded by Mauro's former employer, the Iowa Finance Authority. Mauro worked at the finance authority from December 2000 to January 2003. He was a board member of the Central Iowa Employment and Training Consortium until a payroll scandal erupted last spring.

Mauro is the majority owner of a company called Curly Top LLC. Last week, the Iowa Finance Authority announced that it was awarding Curly Top $4,659,010 in tax credits to build a 40-unit apartment complex for low-income senior citizens to be called Southview Senior Apartments. The building is to be constructed on what is now a 1.4-acre vacant lot located at 1720 S.W. First St. in Des Moines.

State records indicate that Mauro's company intends to buy the land from the city for the appraised value of $99,903.

It sure looks like Mr. Mauro has hit an insider's jackpot. The former CIETC board member who let its executives loot the agency under his watch, and who now sits on the Polk County Board, buys land from the city and gets a $4.6 million subsidy from the state agency he used to run.

But it can't be an inside job; Mr. Mauro says so:

"There's no favoritism that I know of that goes on," he said. "I'm pleased I got it, and I don't think I got any special favors. I'm sure I didn't."

Well, that settles that. Hey, let's increase the sales tax to 7% so Mr. Mauro can supervise more public money for us.

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