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The millage rate offset and property tax revenue stability

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  • Ihlanfeldt, Keith R.
  • Willardsen, Kevin

Abstract

One of the alleged virtues of the property tax is that it produces stable revenues regardless of price movements in real estate markets. One explanation for this is that local governments adjust their millage rates to offset changes in their property tax base. Little evidence, however, exists on the strength of this millage rate offset mechanism. We hypothesize that the importance of this mechanism will vary among local governments depending upon the monopoly power that they possess. The results provide strong support for our hypothesis.

Suggested Citation

  • Ihlanfeldt, Keith R. & Willardsen, Kevin, 2014. "The millage rate offset and property tax revenue stability," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 167-176.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:regeco:v:46:y:2014:i:c:p:167-176
    DOI: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2014.04.004
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    Cited by:

    1. Ihlanfeldt, Keith & Mayock, Tom, 2015. "Foreclosures and local government budgets," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 135-147.
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    3. Goodman, Christopher B, 2018. "House Prices & Property Tax Revenues During the Boom & Bust: Evidence from Small-Area Estimates," SocArXiv fam2d, Center for Open Science.
    4. Bimonte, Salvatore & Stabile, Arsenio, 2015. "Local taxation and urban development. Testing for the side-effects of the Italian property tax," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 100-107.
    5. Alex Combs & Erin Troland, 2023. "The Role of Property Assessment Oversight in School Finance Inequality," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2023-024, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Property tax revenues; Millage rates; Expenditures;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H7 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations
    • H2 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue

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