TIF Decisions Should Be Made at the County, Not City, Level
The simplest thing Missouri can do to improve the decision-making process for tax increment financing (TIF) is move the responsibility...
What’s the Rush, Chesterfield?
Chesterfield leaders have scheduled a special city council meeting for Wednesday, December 14, to vote on (and likely approve) the...
To Make an Omelette in Branson, You Have to Break a Few Eggs
Last year, voters in Branson voted in a new mayor. Last month, they went further by voting into office a...
Crestwood TIF Update
Dierbergs has withdrawn its request for $17 million in subsidies ($13.5 million via tax-increment financing [TIF] and $3.5 million from...
Wayfair Bill Is Chock Full of Goodies
Gov. Parson just signed SB 153 into law. Most of the attention on the bill will focus on the largest...
Kansas City Council Should Say November Oscar to Hotel Bravo
The developers of a luxury hotel proposed for downtown Kansas City are back seeking major tax subsidies for their proposal....
Tides Turning Against TIF?
Public support is growing for efforts to protect local funding from bad tax-increment financing (TIF) deals, but will the elected...
Boonville TIF: A Slippery Slope
One of the first lessons I learned growing up in Boonville was to say what I mean and mean what...
A Big Win for Taxpayers in Maryland Heights
As far as I know, the biggest defeat of a tax increment financing (TIF) package or similar tax subsidy (and,...
Fixing the “Delmar Divide” with a TIF?
Developers are asking for millions in tax subsidies for a redevelopment project with the hopes of fixing St. Louis’s “Delmar...
How Many Chances Does TIF Get?
There are so many problems with the City of St. Louis’s tax-increment financing (TIF) program that it would make your...
TIF for Tat Two
Back in December 2018, the Show-Me Institute published TIF-for-Tat: The Relationship Between Political Contributions and Tax-increment Financing Awards. A new nationwide...
Government Sues Government over Government’s Common-Sense Decision
Truth is stranger than fiction. The Post-Dispatch recently reported that the City of Maryland Heights is suing the St. Louis...
Is U City Considering Eminent Domain After All?
Trust your gut. That’s about as good and as universal of a piece of advice as you can get. Skeptics...
Kansas City’s Christmas Tree
If you’ve lived in Kansas City for a while, you’ve heard all about building new things. We’ve built a new...
Too Many Hotels in KC, According to Hotel Developer Seeking Subsidies
In a blog post earlier this year I wondered about Kansas City, “If previous subsidies successfully created a vibrant economic...
Taxpayer Largesse Unnecessary, Wasteful in U City Development
University City officials seem far too eager to give away taxpayer dollars to developers who are hardly in need of...
Where Is That City Report on Economic Development?
Are economic development incentives worthwhile? Abundant research from all over the country says they are not. Kansas City leaders disagree,...
Legislative Update: TIF Reform
Researchers and activists across Missouri have long decried the way in which city governments too easily give away taxpayer money....
Cities May Actually Be the Culprit in Underfunding Schools
Education funding is a hot topic in several states, with lawsuits alleging that state governments are failing to meet their...
