Date of Degree
2026
Degree Name
Ed.D. (Doctor of Education)
Department
Department of Leadership, Educational Psychology, and Foundations (LEPF)
Director
Rosario-Moore, Alexios
Co-Director
Summers, Kelly
Committee Members
Creed, Ben
Keywords
TIF, Tax Increment Finance, Fiscal illusion, School, Porportionality, Tax shift, education
Abstract
Tax Increment Financing (TIF) has become a widely utilized economic development tool, allowing municipalities to capture future increases in property tax revenue within designated redevelopment areas.
The study’s purpose was to examine how TIF districts in Illinois affect the proportional distribution of property tax burdens and the allocation of property tax revenues to public school districts. Guided by Resource Allocation Theory, Public Choice Theory, and Fiscal Illusion, the study investigated how the exclusion of incremental EAV alters tax rate calculations and redistributes tax responsibility among taxpayers both within and outside of TIF boundaries. A quantitative analytical framework was developed and applied to measure these effects using publicly available data, comparing actual tax rates with counterfactual scenarios in which TIF-related EAV was included in the tax base. The findings demonstrated that TIF districts produce measurable shifts in both school district revenue access and individual taxpayer burden, confirming that structural changes to the tax base can result in redistribution effects that are not readily visible through traditional reporting mechanisms.
This study contributes to the literature by extending existing research beyond municipal-level outcomes to quantify proportional tax redistribution at both the school district and taxpayer level. The development of a replicable analytical instrument provides a tool for improving transparency and informing decision-making among policymakers, school leaders, and taxpayers. The findings further suggest that increased transparency in these redistribution effects may influence how stakeholders evaluate TIF use, potentially reshaping fiscal decision-making and the broader policy discourse surrounding economic development and public resource allocation.
Publisher
Northern Illinois University
Rights Statement
In Copyright
Rights Statement 2
NIU theses and dissertations are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors, unless otherwise indicated.
Recommended Citation
Johnson, Cathy Lynn, "Fiscal Illusion and Property Tax Porportionality" (2026). Dissertations of Practice. 107.
https://huskiecommons.lib.niu.edu/allgraduate-disspractice/107
Included in
Business Law, Public Responsibility, and Ethics Commons, Educational Administration and Supervision Commons, Education Economics Commons, Finance and Financial Management Commons, Taxation Commons
