This policy brief documents the extent of property tax abatement, Tax Increment Financing, and Enterprise Zone use in Cook County, Illinois. We estimate the cost of the incentives in terms of foregone revenue to local governments at about $250 million, or 5.3 percent of the $4.7 billion of commercial and industrial property taxes local governments in Cook County extended in 2014, were not collected as a result of property tax abatements. We also find that these three different tax incentives often are bundled together and used in conjunction with each other. Because some of the programs work at cross purposes, this suggests that the agencies administering the various business assistance programs in the county could improve their coordination.

Publication link: https://igpa.uillinois.edu/report/business-taxation