The Caddo Commission is considering the establishment of a Tax Incentive Financing (TIF) district on North Market stretching from the Amazon fulfillment center to MLK Drive.
There are many issues to be decided including the geographic area, the disbursement and economic planning agency for the TIF and whether the Caddo Parish School Board and the city of Shreveport will need to join the TIF to make it an economically feasible project. Any school board funds paid to the TIF are restricted for public education expenditures.
Initially, state law requires that the city of Shreveport must provide written consent to the creation of the TIF. This will require action by the Shreveport City Council which has yet to be briefed on the TIF.
Secondly, the taxes that will be generated for the proposed TIF are the increase in taxes due to reassessment of the properties within the TIF after the tax baseline is created the year that the TIF is established. A Commission staffer has estimated that with a 10% increase in taxes above the baseline the TIF will generate approximately $6700 per year.
These facts are relevant to the ongoing discussion by the Commission concerning the creation of the proposed TIF along with the issues set forth above.