Owners of The Mall at Greece Ridge paid $99,398 in wages while claiming $3.3 million in state tax credits in 2005 - topping off a three-year stretch in which tax breaks exceeded wages by $8.8 million.
At the Corporate Woods of Brighton office park, meanwhile, tax breaks surpassed wages by more than $900,000 in 2005.
In all, nearly one in three suburban Monroe County businesses that received incentives through the state's Empire Zone economic development program in 2005 got more in state tax credits than they paid in total wages, according to a Democrat and Chronicle analysis of state records.
That ratio is second statewide only to Yonkers, where two in every five businesses received similar benefits.
"It may be oversimplifying, but the numbers don't lie," said Assemblyman Joseph Morelle, D-Irondequoit. "If you receive credits more than your payroll, then it's fair to say the state has covered your payroll.
"The question then becomes whether that is legitimate public policy, are these strategic industries?"
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The court-ordered disclosure of the Empire Zone records came after the state lost a court battle with The Post Standard in Syracuse, which sued for the data. So far, records have been released for 2003-05. Data for 2006 likely will not be ready until next fall, officials said.
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