Tax Increment Financing

Today’s news that Walmart has pulled out of the old University Hospital site at 9th and Colorado in Denver, along with the city’s search for a tax revenue-generating use for the property, has spotlighted the issue of tax increment financing (TIF).  So what are TIFs?  A memo from the Colorado Legislative Council provides an explanation of TIFs and how they work, as well as background on how Colorado law authorizes downtown development authorities to use TIFs to finance their projects.