The Land Use Implications Of Alternative Municipal Financial Tools

The first section of this paper presents a model of local government finance based on the benefits received from local government services. It includes discussion of the role of local government and the appropriate financing tools to carry out this role. The second section reviews the sources of revenues used by municipal governments, outlines recent trends in the use of these revenues, and evaluates the extent to which these trends have been consistent with the benefit model of local finance. The third section reviews planning tools used by municipal governments, highlights recent trends in planning, and discusses the relationship between planning and municipal finance. The fourth section analyzes the impact on land use decisions of three sources of revenue currently used by Canadian municipalities: user fees, property taxes, and development charges. The fifth section considers the potential impact of two sources not currently used: site value taxes and land value capture taxes. The sixth section summarizes the findings and discusses the implications of using tax policy to achieve land use objectives.