TIF as social engineering
One of my last official duties as a Nebraska State Senator was to attend a hearing on TIF financing and workforce housing last week at the State Capitol in Lincoln. As a result of that hearing, I am convinced more than ever that TIF is a bad experiment in social engineering and makes property owners pay more in property taxes than they ought to have to pay. If the Legislature ever ended TIF, it would result in lower property taxes for everyone.
Tax Increment Financing (TIF) is a popular way for cities to promote economic development. “Economic development” is the weasel way of describing these business tax credit incentive programs. A much more accurate description would be tax credit social engineering, but you don’t have to accept this from me. Fiscally conservative economists have long recognized this fact for years. For example, Randal O’Toole, formerly with the CATO Institute, began referring to TIF programs as exercises in social engineering as far back as May 2011 in an article he wrote entitled, Crony Capitalism and Social Engineering: The Case AgainstTax Increment Financing. Although Nebraska State Statutes currently allow for TIF financing, TIF programs result in social engineering for several reasons, and today I would like to explain why that is the case.
