Voice For Liberty

Tag: Tax increment financing

  • Wichita City Council subsidizes pizza and doughnuts for Planeview

    At the September 14th Wichita City Council meeting the public was treated to tales of the helpless nature of Wichita’s Planeview residents. It sounded as if residents are being held in an open-air prison, victims of society, greedy QuikTrip stores, and price-gouging cab companies, unable to obtain the necessities of life without trekking an entire…

  • Economic development planning in Wichita on tap

    Tuesday’s meeting of the Wichita City Council features four public hearings concerning Community Improvement District. One CID also will have a public hearing on its application for tax increment financing (TIF).

  • For downtown Wichita, Mayor Brewer has a vision

    In Sunday’s Wichita Eagle, Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer penned a piece that states his belief in the importance of downtown and prepares the people of Wichita for the start of a prescriptive planning process, with accompanying subsidy to politically-favored developers willing to fulfill the plan.

  • More Wichita Community Improvement Districts proposed

    Tomorrow’s meeting Wichita City Council will consider starting the process for the approval of three Community Improvement Districts in Wichita.

  • The ‘tax expenditure’ solution for our national debt

    While most critics of government spending focus on entitlements, regular appropriations, and earmarks, there is a category of spending that not many pay much attention to. The spending is called “tax expenditures.” In Kansas some have been calling them “tax appropriations.” It’s a big issue. As economist Martin Feldstein writes in the Wall Street Journal,…

  • North Dakota TIF video informative, reminiscent of Wichita

    The North Dakota Policy Council has a video on YouTube that explains the mechanics of tax increment financing (TIF) districts and the public policy problems associated with TIF.

  • Wichita mayor speaks on economic development

    At last week’s Wichita City Council meeting, Mayor Carl Brewer spoke in favor of the city’s economic development policy, specifically as it related to a downtown Wichita development partly financed with tax increment financing, or TIF.

  • Wichita Exchange Place project passes

    At today’s meeting of the Wichita City Council, final approval of the city’s involvement in a downtown Wichita development passed.

  • On Wichita’s Exchange Place TIF, Janet Miller speaks

    Last week’s meeting of the Wichita City Council featured a message from Council Member Janet Miller that illustrated her firm belief in centralized government planning for the purposes of economic development. It also contained a material mistake in the understanding of the facts of the project.

  • Wichita’s Jeff Longwell on TIF districts, tax abatements

    Is a tax increment financing (TIF) district a tax abatement? Wichita city council member Jeff Longwell, now Wichita’s vice-mayor, doesn’t think so. During this week’s city council meeting, Longwell said this in explaining his support of a TIF district created for the benefit of Real Development: “One of the things that people I think need…

  • Tax increment financing is not free money

    Cato Institute Senior Fellow Randal O’Toole has written extensively on the subject of urban planning, development, and tax increment financing (TIF) districts. The following article contains many points that the Wichita City Council may wish to consider as it considers expansion of a downtown Wichita TIF district at tomorrow’s council meeting.

  • Wichita proposed tax increment financing district subject of news

    Today’s Wichita Eagle carries two news stories regarding the proposed expansion of a downtown Wichita tax increment financing (TIF) district. The front-page story Condo vote key to downtown Wichita growth and the additional story Owners report mixed views of developers provided background on the vote the Wichita City Council may make at Tuesday’s 9:00 am…