Impact fees cause too many negative effects

From Wikipedia: Criticism. Impact Fees "can be seen as a tax to some. An argument against impact fees is that they may constrain and hurt the local economy, the argument includes the assertion that they may serve as a de facto tax which can have the result of planning or ending development in an area and instead cause investment in other areas that don't levy impact fees."

Another argument is that fees increase the price of housing, where developers, who pay the fees, pass the cost of the fee on to the future property owners.

Another concern is that the negative effect that they may have on a local economy may directly hurt job growth and reduce the amount of jobs that are available in an area.

The above is all true, but our local population has succumbed to the notion that it is OK to "tax anybody but me." Finally, due to impact fees, on balance, smaller homes will be built, and future taxes or those smaller homes will generate smaller real estate taxes.

And so it goes; the developers are cast as really evil people, who don't provide anyone with jobs as painters, electricians, plumbers, etc.

And no, I'm not a developer, never was one. I'm just sorry to see a whole profession demonized and so unfairly taxed as though "they deserve it!"

David Cohen

Myakka City

This story was originally published April 22, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Impact fees cause too many negative effects ."