COLUMBUS (AP) — State officials can’t say whether businesses who have received more than

COLUMBUS (AP) — State officials can’t say whether businesses who have received more than a billion dollars in tax incentives to expand or locate in Ohio have actually created the jobs they promised, a newspaper reported Sunday.

Officials blamed antiquated computer systems, and the Ohio Department of Development said it’s working to reform the system so that the impact of tax breaks on job creation is better known.

In the past decade, the state has handed companies more than $1.7 billion in tax breaks, loans and grants, the newspaper reported. The businesses promised to create 200,000 jobs.

“There’s a gigantic hole in the process,” said James Newton, chief economic adviser of Commerce National Bank in Columbus.

“The state could be frittering away millions upon millions of dollars.”

A yearlong study of the state’s tax incentive programs that is almost completed is expected to recommend computer upgrades and other changes for improved tracking.