Wednesday, May 16, 2012

The competition to create jobs in a recovering economy is causing states to waive hundreds of millions of tax dollars as incentives for businesses.

Perhaps nowhere is this battle more intense than in Kansas City -- a city literally split by a street into two states.

Records obtained by The Associated Press show Kansas and Missouri have committed to more than $750 million in tax breaks and
bonds during the past five years for businesses in the Kansas City
area. In some cases, businesses have moved only a few miles across the state line, with little effect on the region's economy.

Some lawmakers have called for a truce, saying tax revenue is being squandered. But the governors of the competing states say they'll remain aggressive in luring every possible job.