The Expense of Tax-Increment Financing

A new report from the Cato Institute says that tax-increment financing (TIFs) costs taxpayers $10 billion a year and the practice is growing by the minute.

1 minute read

May 24, 2011, 6:00 AM PDT

By Tim Halbur

TIFs are an economic development tool that basically subsidizes development based on future gain from increased land values, and often used to improve blighted neighborhoods. The Cato report argues that TIFs do not increase economic development.

Randal O'Toole wrote the report, and summarizes the results:

"At best, it [TIFs] moves development that would have taken place somewhere else in a community to the TIF district. That means it generates no net tax revenues, so the TIF district effectively takes taxes from schools and other tax entities."

FULL STORY: Halting TIF's Rapid Growth

Monday, May 23, 2011 in The Antiplanner

Community / Economic Development United States Tax-Increment Financing TIFs Randal O'Toole

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