It took 14 years for the government to land a Bass Pro near Toledo, Ohio.  The quest included changing Ohio state law to allow a sales tax incentive/rebate for Bass Pro.

This is just sheer lunacy.  No where does our constitution authorize the government to take money from people to support private businesses.  Buffalo now has a chance to be a true leader by telling Bass Pro that they are more than welcome in the Queen City, as long as it is on their own dime.

Tear down the Aud and turn it into a shovel ready site.  Stick a “for sale” sign on the property and sell it to the highest bidder.   While waiting to sell the property, cut the size of government, lower taxes for all businesses and individuals and marvel at the economic boom that will begin.

Unlike Buffalo, where a proposed waterfront site attracted opposition from some preservationists when it was planned for the Central Wharf, the Rossford site — about 230 acres of farmland on the edge of suburbia — was never a sticking point. The sticking issue in Rossford, instead, was changing Ohio’s tax law so Bass Pro would get a sales tax rebate.

“It took longer than any of us expected. We had changes in governors, changes in the State Legislature, but we never gave up and finally got approvals,” Blaha said.

The key state legislation, tailor-made for Wood County to woo Bass Pro, allows the county to give the retailer a rebate of up to 75 percent on the one percent sales tax it collects. The 10-year sales tax rebate deal, calculated on projected annual Bass Pro sales of $50 million, would net Wood County some $125,000, while returning $375,000 to the retailer each year.

The Buffalo News: Home: Buffalo isn’t the only city to wait for Bass Pro