Cities and Tax-Increment Financing (TIF)

Study: Poverty decreases use of TIF, June 17, 2010, St. Louis Business Journal: “Rich cities are getting richer by using tax-increment financing (TIF) and poor cities are missing out, a new study shows. That could have a significant impact, considering more than half (56 percent) of all Missouri cities with a population of greater than 2,500 have adopted at least one tax increment financing (TIF) project, according to the study. For every 1 percent increase in the poverty rate, the likelihood of a TIF having been approved decreases by 9 percent, among Missouri cities surveyed. ‘This may suggest that the law be amended to target TIFs to locations that meet objective measures of economic disadvantage, such as poverty, income or unemployment,’ Kenneth Thomas, one of the study’s authors, said in a statement. He is associate professor of political science at University of Missouri-St. Louis. ‘As it stands, rich cities are getting richer by using TIFs,’ he added…”