What are tax incentives?
___Tax incentives are ways of reducing taxes for businesses and individuals in exchange for specific desirable actions or investments.
___Tax incentives generally take one of three forms:
- Tax deductions
- Tax credits
- Tax reduction or forgiveness
What do we mean by using tax incentives to support community health and development?
___Tax incentives can be used to persuade businesses and individuals to take positive action that leads to the achievement of community goals and to the betterment of the community.
___Tax incentives can sometimes be used to persuade businesses and individuals not to take action that would create barriers to community goals and to the betterment of the community.
Why use tax incentives to support community health and development?
___Tax incentives speak to businesses’ and individuals’ self-interest.
___Tax incentives make allies rather than adversaries.
___Tax incentives can show businesses that community-building projects can be both feasible and profitable, thus leading to more of them.
___Tax incentives can be an efficient use of taxpayer money.
___Tax incentives can be directed exactly where they’re needed.
When would you use tax incentives?
___When you’re trying to manage growth.
___When you’re revitalizing neighborhoods, communities, or rural areas.
___When you’re trying to meet community needs.
___When you’re trying to prevent or fix environmental problems.
___When tax incentives can be part of a coordinated strategy.
Who should use tax incentives to support community health and development?
___Policy makers and legislators should apply tax incentives.
___Supporting and advocating for tax incentives should be the work of:
- Direct beneficiaries of tax incentives.
- Human service providers and advocates for the poor.
- Economic developers and community planners.
- Local officials, especially those in economically depressed areas, or areas with other problems that might be addressed through incentives.
- Businesses, corporations, real estate developers, etc.
- Environmental activists.
- Farmers.
How do you use tax incentives to support community health and development?
You can apply tax incentives to:
___Affordable housing.
___Neighborhood development.
___Historic Preservation.
___Enterprise zones.
___Environmental responsibility.
- Residential, commercial, and industrial development site selection and preparation.
- Open space preservation.
- Brownfields reclamation.
- Water conservation.
- Green building.
- Waste management and pollution control.
- Sustainable agriculture.
- Farmland/open space/wildlife habitat preservation.
___Energy conservation.
- The purchase of alternative-fuel or hybrid vehicles.
- Recycling.
- On-site power generation.
- Resource conservation.
- The development and/or use of renewable energy and sustainable technology.
___Health.
___Employment and workforce development.
- Job creation.
- Job training.
- Workplace education.
- Workforce development.
- Hiring people from disadvantaged groups.
___ADA compliance.
___Charitable contributions.
You can convince policy makers to put incentives in place by:
___Advocating with legislators and policy makers.
___Using the media to get public opinion on your side.
___Keeping at it for as long as incentives are needed and useful.