Hope Yet On TIF

A developer is proposing a new project in Florissant for a Walmart that will not involve a TIF or a CID. And they said it could not be done. This is very exciting, and it would be awesome to have a recent example of a major development like this in Saint Louis done without a tax subsidy. Remember, whether you subsidize retail or not, people are still going to want to buy stuff. (I want to cover myself and say that just because they will not go for a TIF, it does not automatically mean that there will not be another type of subsidy, such as a TDD. But, because TIF is the worst available here, this would still be a victory.)

It is absolutely NOT a coincidence that this development without TIF is being done in a pool sales tax city. Cities in the sales tax cities gain from development wherever it occurs. Because they share their sales tax collections with the pool – which is then redistributed back based on population – they have no incentive to kick out their own people and give away the store (pun intended) with tax subsidies. A point-of-sale city (which keeps the bulk of its own tax collections) would have given away their first-born mall as soon as the developer mentioned the idea in passing.