Current occupancy tax rules does not fit with new types of short-term rentals. To keep a balance between hotels and short-term rentals, the senate bill would extend the room occupancy tax to short-term residential rentals.

Powerpoint outlining the economic development asset map for Detroit.

EquityNewOrleans is a citywide initiative of the Office of Mayor Mitch Landrieu funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. In partnership with the Foundation for Louisiana, EquityNewOrleans assessed the role of equity in City government using a data-driven process that prioritizes stakeholder engagement. The results inform the development of future strategies and decision-making within City government.

This report investigates the state's requirements around the reporting of certain tax credits and companies that received them to maintain transparency. The Division of Taxation needs to ensure sufficient staff resources to make this program work. The state should amend the law to include the RI EDC Project status and historical tax credit. They should also update the tax credit laws and eliminate outdated credits.

The Neighborhood Jobs Trust (NJT) was created in 1987 to ensure that Boston's low- and moderate-income residents benefit, in the form of job training, from the development in their city. In other words, the Trust translates commercial development in the physical landscape into economic empowerment in the human one. Given that Boston is in the midst of the largest 4-year building boom in its history, the Trust has only grown in significance as a mechanism to make Boston a more equitable and prosperous city for all its residents. Over 2016-2017, NJT allocated $2.2 million to support over 2,300 residents in a variety of programs - from occupational skills training to adult literacy to tuition support - to develop their economic potential. This investment has yielded results. Placed graduates of NJT grantee programs earned an average hourly wage of $15.23 - a figure well above the city's living wage.

Houston is one of the most inequitable cities in the United States. Households with incomes in the top 5% earn nearly 10 times more than households in the bottom 20th percentile. Thus, it is not surprising that while Houston ranks as the second-most prosperous city in the United States and the fifth fastest-growing, it only ranks 64th on a list of most economically inclusive cities. This staggering contrast between general wealth and individual welfare in our city creates both an enormous challenge and a great opportunity to improve lives through effective public policy. Mayor Turner is the best-situated elected leader in the South to embrace equity as a driving principle of his administration. He has an opportunity to demonstrate a model for the region that advances transformative policy shifts, which could impact millions of lives. Mayor Turner launched the Complete Communities initiative earlier this year, a program focused on transforming historically under-resourced communities by developing solutions in partnership with residents and leaders that are tailored to each neighborhood. The goal is to expand access to quality affordable homes, jobs, parks, improved streets and sidewalks, grocery and retail stores, good schools, and transit options. To build on this effort, Mayor Turner created the Mayoral Task Force on Equity, charging it with developing actionable policy recommendations to make Houston a more equitable city.

PILOTs are voluntary payments made by tax-exempt nonprofits as a substitute for property taxes. These payments typically result from negotiations between local government officials and individual nonprofits, but the exact arrangements vary widely. PILOTs can be formal, long-term contracts, routine annual payments, or irregular one-time payments. The payments can go into a municipality's general fund, or be directed to a specific project or program. PILOTs are most frequently made by hospitals, colleges, and universities, but also by nonprofit retirement homes, low-income housing facilities, cultural institutions, fitness centers, and churches. Some such payments are not even called PILOTs, but are known as "voluntary contributions" or "service fees."

A list of possible user fee taxes local governments could use to raise revenue prepared by the Illinois Municipal Treasures Asocciation.

This report lays out a set of policy and political interventions that cities, regions, and states can make to increase municipal revenue and to make their collections more progressive. Cities have historically suffered enormous budget shortfalls and after the Great Recession, available funds depleted even more drastically. There is a desperate need for more municipal tax revenue and for a more just system for collecting it, instead of the current practice of cities collecting their revenue in regressive ways. Across the United States, there are major political obstacles to raising any kind of revenue. And yet, although different, the obstacles at the municipal level are in some ways even greater than they are at the state and federal levels. Nevertheless, there are meaningful strategies that cities and counties can adopt. And there are political strategies that may be effective at generating state-level reform. This report lays these out in detail, discussing the political and policy strengths and weaknesses of each.

Overview of a tax fund program in Atlanta to prevent homeowner displacement due to the inability to pay a rise in property taxes due to revitalization efforts.