Value of metro Atlanta tax breaks revealed

Until now, no one knew the real cost of tax incentives awarded by metro Atlanta governments to companies that pledged to expand in the area.

That’s changing as a result of new government transparency rules that enabled The Atlanta Journal-Constitution to crunch the numbers and discover which companies benefited the most last year.

The figures show that the region's biggest businesses and mixed-use developments also received some of the largest tax breaks.

Avalon, an upscale mixed-use development in Alpharetta, topped the list, receiving nearly $2.6 million in tax breaks last year.

Nearly two dozen Fortune 500 companies are also among those receiving public support, including Walmart, Home Depot, FedEx, Coca-Cola, SunTrust and others.

In all, tax incentives amounted to a 30 percent discount on average for more than 180 properties in the region's four core counties last year. Companies received $30.7 million in property tax discounts and still owed $72.6 million in Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties, according to the AJC's analysis.

Full story: Read more about which companies received the highest tax breaks on myAJC.com.