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The Rundown with Kansas Legislative Division of Post AuditAuthor: Legislative Post Audit
The Rundown is your source for news and updates from the Kansas Legislative Division of Post Audit including conversations with staff discussing the findings of performance audits released to the Kansas Legislature. Language: en-us Genres: Government Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Reviewing the Reporting Accuracy and Fiscal Effects of Industrial Revenue Bonds [July 2026]
Wednesday, 8 July, 2026
The Legislature created the Industrial Revenue Bond (IRB) program in 1961 to promote economic development. Local governments issue IRBs to fund business facilities with the goals of growing the local economy and increasing property tax revenue. Businesses that use IRBs can get a 10-year property tax exemption (IRBX). During 2010-2024, local governments issued about $18.3 billion in industrial revenue bonds and exempted about $1.1 billion in related property taxes, most of which would’ve likely gone to school districts and local governments. Statute requires local governments to prepare cost-benefit analyses (CBAs) if they want to offer IRBXs but provides limited guidance on their quality. We compared foregone property tax revenue estimates in 23 CBAs to the actual foregone property taxes reported by county appraisers. The CBA estimates differed greatly from county appraiser amounts (between 94% lower and 6,065% higher). Some CBAs underestimated completed project values, some overestimated how much investment would translate into appraised value, and some used erroneous figures and assumptions when estimating property taxes.Finally, we identified 3 subsidiaries of foreign businesses that received $282 million in IRB funds in 2024.
