Cities across the country are reconsidering tax abatement plans, in the new belief that cities just can't afford them.
"Tax abatements – programs which allow developers, homebuyers and/or businesses to forgo paying property taxes or pay them at a reduced rate for a number of years – have been put on trial throughout the country. Houston, which has suspended its program, and St. Joseph County in Indiana, which is scaling its back, are just two of many municipalities that are carefully reevaluating the benefits of tax abatement in a time when a shrinking tax base is the primary pain of the crisis for cities. The idea is that in these times, one can only raise actual tax rates – like sales and wage taxes – so high without inducing flight, so tweaking how tax abatement is applied can be an alternative way to raise taxes without really raising taxes.
It's not clear whether or not doing anything with the programs will make a difference right now, with homeownership declining and businesses tightening their ambitions for expansion – it might deter these individuals, but they're already deterred by their own lack of money."
FULL STORY: When Cities Are Too Generous
Mapping Tax Abatements to Mitigate Controversy
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Paris Bike Boom Leads to Steep Drop in Air Pollution
The French city’s air quality has improved dramatically in the past 20 years, coinciding with a growth in cycling.
Why Housing Costs More to Build in California Than in Texas
Hard costs like labor and materials combined with ‘soft’ costs such as permitting make building in the San Francisco Bay Area almost three times as costly as in Texas cities.
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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Smith Gee Studio
Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization
City of Santa Clarita
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service