As affordable housing crises have deepened, cities and regions have looked to create housing trusts1 to fund new affordable housing. Seed money often sets up the trust, usually with funding provided on a one-time basis. This leaves cities and states in America and elsewhere casting about for revenue streams to top up the trust on a regular basis.
Needless to say, city and regional governments are always strapped for funds, and most existing revenue streams such as property taxes and proceeds from parking meters, etc. are already fully earmarked for other uses. Diverting money from one of these streams only robs Peter to pay Paul as the saying goes, funding one necessity by starving another.
As a result, governments are particularly hungry for never-before tapped funding streams that allow them to support new housing without squeezing other important programs.
One brand new revenue stream that has recently been put to use funding affordable housing is a so-called ‘sin’ tax on newly legalized marijuana sales. Try: Colorado, Where The Wages Of Sin Is Affordable Housing (And The Munchies)
Some cities have recently been giving consideration to exercising their taxation powers to piggyback affordable housing on yet another new enterprise within American (and indeed worldwide) cities: ride sharing. Read more at GeekWire: Seattle Plans To Tax Uber And Lyft Rides To Raise $133M For Affordable Housing And Transit
Footnotes
- See the category Funding: Revenue Streams for other posts on this issue.
