Comment

摘要

The Lead Paper by Chapman and Gorina lucidly sets out the issues surrounding Tax Increment Financing (TIF) in the US context, presenting some provocative food for thought as to how TIF might operate in the UK and, as the introduction of TIF approaches for England, what we might learn from the North American experience. It is important, therefore, to understand the fiscal differences between the US and UK contexts, particularly in respect of local government finance. The fiscal instruments available to local government in the UK at the time of writing are virtually nil, the exception being Council Tax (the local domestic property tax), which does not loom large as a potential revenue stream for TIF. However, with the potential local retention of business rates proposed by the current Local Government Resource Review (DCLG, 2011), this picture could change significantly.