Tax Revenue

Tax Revenue Goes Further

Local businesses in town centers also require comparatively little infrastructure investment and make more efficient use of public services. The taxes paid by large retailers often do not cover the increase in public services that are required and the difference can be dramatic, according to a recent study of Barnstable, Massachusetts, a city of 48,000 people. The study, conducted by Tischler & Associates, compared public revenue and costs for various land uses. It found that the city's small downtown stores generate a net annual surplus (tax revenue minus costs) of $326 per 1,000 square feet. Big-box stores, strip shopping centers, and fast-food outlets, however, require more in services than they produce in revenue. A big-box store creates an annual tax deficit of $468 per 1,000 square feet (Stacy Mitchell, Main Street News, Feb 2004).