ALBANY – The state unconstitutionally deprived five corporations of tax benefits by applying changes to the Empire Zones Program made in 2009 retroactively to the beginning of 2008, the Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.
The companies’ due process rights were violated by both the length of the retroactive changes in rules governing the program and the fact that the state lacked a "valid public purpose" for reaching back more than a year to apply new rules and rescind the tax advantages, Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman (See Profile) wrote for the 5-1 court.
