[Excerpt]

"Gov. John Bel Edwards sided with New Orleans officials Monday by denying tax breaks sought by Folgers Coffee Co. that would have cost the city millions of dollars in property tax revenue....

ITEP has become a hot-button political issue in recent years. Business groups argue that allowing companies to avoid taxes they would owe on new equipment and machinery encourages those types of investments. Critics, led by Together Louisiana, argue that companies have been allowed to skip out on taxes from investments that they would have made anyway and that schools and sheriffs need the taxes to improve the quality of life in their communities.

Olin Parker, the president of the school board, said the governor’s decision would put about $500,000 more per year in the budgets of K-12 public schools in New Orleans.

John Bel Edwards Rejects Tax Breaks Sought by Folgers Coffee in New Orleans, The New Orleans Advocate [pdf]