Quote:
Originally Posted by Biff
I don't know if this has been mentioned on here before, but I was just at the Mayor's state of the City address and he announced a $50m fund for affordable housing downtown. They hope for this to create approx 1,500 new units downtown.
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I'm assuming this will be used to fund more "Tax Increment Financing", which the way it's used in Winnipeg drives me nuts!
1. My understanding of the way most other places use TIF is that they are a method for a government to finance its own projects - e.g. if Winnipeg wanted a big Broadway renewal they would use the projected future tax revenue to finance the project. It doesn't have anything to do with giving the money to private developers.
2. The way Winnipeg does it is called a Tax Increment Based Grant (at least in Ontario) - don't get me wrong, I think it's a valid tool too, just use the correct terminology!
3. Why does the city have to "fund" their TIF? If they're granting back the money based on increased property taxes, shouldn't the program just be paying for itself?
4. We should use a permanent TIBG to finance restoration and preservation of heritage buildings. Maybe a really robust program like this would turn the mindset from "oh no, my building might be added to the heritage list" to "oh sweet, I can access this funding if my building is added to the heritage list".