Examines the many issues raised by TIF the most widely used tool of local economic and community development.This book brings together leading experts to examine the evolving nature of tax increment financing TIF the most widely used tool of local economic and community development. Originally designed as an innovative approach to the redevelopment of blighted areas it has become a more generalpurpose tool of economic and community development. Contributors offer case studies of the uses structures and impacts of TIF projects alongside more general discussions on the theoretical financial and legal bases for the use of TIF. They also explore its effect on overlapping jurisdictions such as cities counties and school districts. Some of the case studies capture TIF at its bestredeveloping areas that would likely never develop without substantial incentives. Other cases highlight questionable uses especially where it has been used in new ways that those who developed the tool never envisioned.Originally published in 2001 the book was called ...a major contribution to the debate on the efficacy of such economic development financing tools as TIF... by the journal Public Budgeting amp Finance. Clear comprehensive and timely this new edition features the latest research and thinking on TIF including the political legal and even ethical issues surrounding its use.