(C) Tennessee Lookout
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A list of Tennessee companies getting tax rebates will vanish from state websites June 30 • Tennessee Lookout [1]
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Date: 2025-06-23
Nearly 60,000 businesses, including some of the state’s largest, received more than $1.5 billion in tax rebates from Tennessee — but the list of those companies will only be available on a state website through June 30.
When lawmakers passed the Republican-backed refund measure in 2024 at the request of Gov. Bill Lee, House members pushed back on senators who wanted no public disclosure of rebate recipients, mandating the information be made publicly available for 30 days.
“The transparency piece is a really important component of this, particularly in light of the fact that several businesses have extorted us to make this change in a way I didn’t think was good for the public,” said Rep. Ryan Williams, a Cookeville Republican, when the law was being debated.
Open records advocates have questioned the transparency of the law, but a leading Republican said he’s comfortable with it.
“I believe in transparency, and so do my fellow Republicans,” said House Republican Caucus Chair Jeremy Faison of Cosby in a June 3 text message. “That’s exactly why the House made sure the public has easy access to this information.”
Lawmakers approved the tax refund after officials from the Lee administration said the state faced a potential lawsuit over the legality of its franchise tax, although no lawsuits have been filed against the state.
Among the businesses getting tax money back are Lee Company, which is owned and operated by Gov. Bill Lee’s family; FedEx; Brown Forman, parent company of Jack Daniels, and AT&T.
During the 2024 debate of the bill, Lee opposed disclosing businesses receiving rebates, saying “I just don’t think it should be in there. I think we shouldn’t be taking private tax information that the government has, and making it public.”
As part of the legislation, Tennessee published the names for 30 days. The public database doesn’t specify the amount a company is set to receive, but provides ranges that top out at $10,000 and above.
“To say something is above $10,000 is not transparent, because it could be $10,500 or $100,000,” said Deborah Fisher, executive director of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government.
The Tennessee Lookout has taken the publicly available info, and republished it below. The database will remain available on the Lookout’s website after it vanishes from the state’s site at the end of this month.
Adam Friedman, Cassandra Stephenson and Sam Stockard contributed to this report.
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Editor’s note: This story was updated on Monday, June 23, at 1:32 p.m., for clarity.
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https://tennesseelookout.com/2025/06/23/a-list-of-tennessee-companies-getting-tax-rebates-will-vanish-from-state-websites-june-30/
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