Our Upside-Down Tax Systems Asks The Most Of Those With The Least
Tennessee’s tax system is farcical, and because it is, so is Memphis and Shelby County’s. But there is no humor in this farce. In truth, the Tennessee tax system should not be called a system at all,...
View ArticleCity and County Bond Ratings Are About Investors, Not Taxpayers
When Rick Masson, Robert Spence, and I negotiated the agreement to bring the Grizzlies from Vancouver to Memphis, it often felt like there was an unseen third party in the room. We would come to an...
View ArticleLegislators’ Lack of Curiosity And The Tax Burden
The lack of curiosity by local government legislative bodies is staggering. This blog’s last post pointed out the questions that never get asked because CFOs talk about bond ratings with thick...
View ArticleIt’s The Value of Taxes, Not The Amount, That Matters Most
There are many high tax cities that are among the U.S.’s most economically successful. That’s because taxes alone are not the definitive determining factor for whether the public considers taxes are...
View ArticleReport: Memphis and Shelby County Gave $344 Million In Tax Breaks In 6 Years
Only one county in the United States gave away more tax money in the form of business incentives than Shelby County – $239.2 million between 2017-2022 – and that doesn’t include $105 million in PILOTs...
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