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Minge bill puts subsidy debate on national ag... Page 3 of 6 subjecting all public subsidies to a new tax. She said some subsidies, such as those aimed at fostering minority employment or use of public transportation, deserve exemptions. "What is the definition of a subsidy," she asked. "A lot of MCDA dollars are offsetting the cost of doing business in an urban environment." "Taxpayers are being held hostage by businesses offering to relocate if they receive special treatment from state and local governments, or worse,threatening to relocate unless they receive such sweet deals," Minge said in a statement when the bill was introduced. In an interview,he said he will seek public hearings on the proposal and attract House and Senate co-sponsors when Congress returns from recess early next year. The bill is not specifically designed to end the migration of professional sports teams, which are relatively minor-league players at capturing public subsidies compared with manufacturers, airlines and other service companies and the builders of malls and office towers. Excise tax proposed • But sports team moves involve the subsidies most in the public eye right now, and they would be affected by the bill. If it were law,the Minnesota Twins'prospective new owner could face a big excise tax penalty if he persuades North Carolina to build a baseball stadium. The same tax would apply if Minnesota legislators changed their minds and decided to underwrite the cost of a new stadium here. On a$400 million publicly built stadium, the team would owe the federal government about$140 million in excise tax if the Minge bill were law. "It sounds like the owner of the team would be paying a fairly hefty tax," said Dave St. Peter, spokesman for the Minnesota Twins. "I certainly think it would have a very negative impact on the ability of professional sports franchises to survive under current financial circumstances." The excise tax also would undermine efforts by the Minnesota Vikings and other sports teams to shop for subsidy deals in Minnesota and elsewhere. The same would be true for builders of office towers, factories, shopping centers, parking lots and other private projects receiving public subsidies offered to some, but not all, businesses. A new excise tax would "take the wheels off these teams," said Art Rolnick, director of research at the Minneapolis Fed and long-time http://webservl.startribune.com/cgi-bin/stOnLine/article?stories=10&pgraphs=l&orderBy=PUB l2/3/97.&next