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IRS approves addition tax-free bonds for completion of Yankee Stadium

The Internal Revenue Services has approved the use of tax-free bonds for the construction of sporting facilities, allowing the New York Yankees to borrow $366 million to finish the new Yankee Stadium.The Internal Revenue Services has approved the use of tax-free bonds for the construction of sporting facilities, allowing the New York Yankees to borrow $366 million to finish the new Yankee Stadium. The Yankees had already financed the first $933 million in construction with the issuing of tax-free bonds — a tool also used by the New York Mets to finance $612 million in construction costs for Citi Field — and the same method is expected to be used by Bruce Ratner to finance a new Brooklyn arena. The decision was blasted by opponents of tax-free financing as corporate welfare, the Yankees alone saved $247 million in taxes. There’s been a lot of disinformation on the subject: it’s not as though the city is actually funding the new ballparks, and both the Yankees and the Mets have borrowed the money on their own to fund construction. You can expect U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich to rip the decision when he holds Congressional hearings next week on the subject of ballpark financing. More from the New York Daily News.