Gov. Peter Shumlin said on Wednesday the state shouldn’t collect $6 million that the
auditor’s office says several towns owe to the state education fund.
The state has given Barre authority to establish a special tax district that’s
designed to help the city pay for public works that will attract economic
development.
The
state is at odds with a couple of cities and towns over revenue generated by a
special kind of tax program known as tax increment financing, or TIF.
A Tax Increment Financing District is a complicated financial
tool that helps towns invest in their infrastructure and promote
economic development. But recent state audits of TIF districts reveal disagreement on the regulations that govern them.
With shrinking
tax revenue and less federal aid, many cash-strapped Vermont cities and towns are employing
a complicated financial tool designed to help them build public projects that
they can’t currently afford.