The Non-Domestic Rating Contributions (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2010 (the 2010 Regulations) pave the way for local authorities to proceed with Tax Incremental Financing or “TIF” schemes.
What is TIF?
TIF or Tax Incremental Financing is a means of funding public sector infrastructure projects to unlock economic development in a given area. Practically, it involves local authorities borrowing towards the funding of infrastructure investment in the expectation that the economic regeneration achieved will result in increased local tax revenues in the relevant area, which in turn will be used to finance repayment. The increase in the tax revenue is the “tax increment”. In the case of Scottish Local Authorities, the extra public revenues would come in the form of increased non-domestic rates flowing from improved economic activity in the re-developed area. TIF has been used widely in the U.S. to provide local authority finance where this would be otherwise unaffordable. Until recently, it has only been discussed in an UK context.
In Scotland a TIF Pilot Scheme has been developed by the Scottish Government to enable up to six local authority projects to use a TIF mechanism based on increased non-domestic rates. A key part of the scheme is the bringing forward of secondary legislation to allow for increased non-domestic rates to be utilised in the way a TIF project requires.
Why was a change necessary?
Non-domestic rate is a local tax and is collected by local authorities within their own areas. However the rate is set centrally by Scottish Ministers. In the ordinary course of events, it is collected by local authorities, remitted to a central non-domestic rating account and then distributed by ministers to local authorities on a “needs based” system by way of a Local Government Finance Order made each year. This means that under the current system - the Non-Domestic Rating Contributions (Scotland) Regulations 1996 (the 1996 Regulations) - there is no specialised mechanism for ensuring that increased tax revenues flowing from a TIF project accrue back to the local authority, with resultant uncertainty around repayments.
What do the 2010 Regulations do?
The 2010 Regulations amend the 1996 Regulations to take account of the possibilities opened up under the TIF Pilot Scheme. In summary:
When did the 2010 Regulations come into force?
The 2010 Regulations came formally into force on 31 December 2010. The TIF provisions will apply to every financial year from 1 April 2011 onwards.
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