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> Giving them a ~10% off coupon on an extremely high tax rate is not the same as handing them money.

Yes it is. How the hell is it not?

and Amazon wants NYC for the size of it's talent pool and ease of recruiting. NYC has no reason to give them anything.

> If you want to have high tax rates and not lose business to other states, it's a winning strategy to be open to compromise sometimes

NYC is having so much trouble getting businesses to come.

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Yes it is. How the hell is it not?

If I give you $27 and you give me $3 back, then yes, technically you've handed me $3. Taking that out of context ignores the end result, which is that I've given you a net $24. You wouldn't be $3 richer if the transaction had never taken place, so acting all indignant that you paid me $3 when you came out way ahead seems pretty disingenuous to me.

If I have a $1 off a big mac coupon, I need to pay McDonalds $5 for what would normally be a $6 big mac.

If McDonalds gives me $1, I don't need to buy a big mac and can go spend it at some other store.

You need to pay taxes anyway, it's not a choice you can make.

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