No matter which service you choose, an individual report or a customized computer model, the economic and fiscal impact analysis is detailed and comprehensive. Our models and reports typically evaluate a project over a 10-year period but can be customized to cover any period of time. The lists below show some of the impacts typically calculated and details on our incentive analysis.
Economic Impacts
Our reports and models will determine the relevant direct and indirect economic impacts for your project. Each analysis is customized for the client, however, the list below identifies some of the economic impacts typically calculated by our analyses.
- Increase in direct and indirect gross area product or economic output
- Number of new direct and indirect jobs created
- Earnings for new direct and indirect workers
- Number of new workers and total residents moving to the area
- New taxable sales in the area
- Number of additional out-of-town visitors to the area
- New taxable lodging sales in the area
- New residential and commercial property to be added to local tax rolls
Fiscal Impacts
Based on the economic impact of a project, our reports and models can estimate the fiscal impact – or additional revenues and costs – for all relevant local taxing entities. These taxing entities usually include the city, county, school district and other special taxing districts. If necessary we can estimate the fiscal impact of the project on the state. The list below identifies some of the fiscal impacts commonly calculated by our analyses.
Additional Revenues*
- Sales tax
- Local income tax
- Property tax
- City utility revenue
- Utility franchise fees
- Hotel occupancy tax
- Other taxes and user fees
- Additional state and federal school funding for local school districts
Additional Costs*
- Costs of providing services to new workers moving to the area
- Costs of providing services, including infrastructure, to the new industries
- Costs of educating the children of new workers moving to the area
* Calculated for each local taxing entity as appropriate.
Incentive Analysis
In addition to calculating economic and fiscal impacts, our reports and models can provide an analysis of possible incentives under consideration. This analysis will depend entirely on the types of incentives your organization is considering for the project. Some common incentives include property tax abatement, sales tax rebates, tax increment financing districts, loans and cash incentives. We can customize the report or model to help you analyze incentives in a way that makes sense to you.
What-If Analysis for Incentives
Incentive Analysis Tab
We have developed a useful What-If Analysis feature that we can include in our models. The feature evaluates cash incentives as an investment in the project and determines the rate of return and payback period for the investment. The return on the investment is the net benefits to one or more taxing entity. This analysis can help your organization determine if a given incentive package is a good deal for a specific project. Since the analysis compares the incentives to the net fiscal benefit for the community over a period of time, the analysis is completely objective and serves as a consistent and objective way to evaluate all different types of economic development projects.
This easy-to-use What-If Analysis can be incorporated into your model, allowing you to run multiple scenarios for incentives quickly and easily. Although this on-the-fly analysis was developed for our impact models, we can also pair the What-If Analysis feature with an impact report we prepare for you.
