Impact fees are rising all along the Gulf Coast, sometimes at breathtaking rates.Governments say the increases are needed to pay for rising land and construction costs for new roads, schools, libraries and other services. While local government leaders contend the fees help keep overall taxes down for current residents, they are also a politically palatable way to raise taxes as the fees are enacted theoretically on newcomers. The problem is that anyone who builds a new house must pay the tax.Impact fees become a huge tax on new housing, new commercial businesses, new office buildings, new restaurants and so on.
