Impact Fee - Criticism

Criticism

Impact fees are accepted forms of financing in many communities in the country. Still, their use is not universally accepted. States, communities, and citizens have opposing viewpoints that don’t accept the use of impact fees as a means to collect revenue. One argument against impact fees is that they may constrain and hurt the local economy from developing. The argument includes the asertion that they may serve as a de facto tax which can have a result of slowing or ending development in an area and instead cause investment in other areas that don’t use impact fees. Another argument against the use of impact fees is that they may have an effect on the price of housing or other units by increasing it. The use of the impact fee on developers may cause them to pass the cost onto the property owners and charge them a higher cost due to the extra fee they will have to pay. Another concern is that they may have an effect on slowing job growth in a city or an area. The negative effect that they may have on a local economy may directly hurt job growth and affect the amount of jobs that are available in an area.