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The effect of state and local sales taxes on employment at state borders

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  • Shawn M. Rohlin
  • Jeffrey P. Thompson

Abstract

This paper estimates the effect of sales taxes on employment at state borders using county-level quarterly data and a newly developed data set of local tax rates. Sales tax increases, relative to cross-border neighbors, lead to losses of employment, as well as payroll and hiring, but these effects are only found in counties with large shares of residents working in another state. The effects also represent an upper-bound, largely driven by employment shifting across the state border. We also find that employment in food and beverage stores is negatively affected when cross-border neighbors adopt low sales tax rates on food.

Suggested Citation

  • Shawn M. Rohlin & Jeffrey P. Thompson, 2013. "The effect of state and local sales taxes on employment at state borders," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2013-49, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedgfe:2013-49
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    5. Ronald C. Fisher, 1980. "Local Sales Taxes: Tax Rate Differentials, Sales Loss, and Revenue Estimation," Public Finance Review, , vol. 8(2), pages 171-188, April.
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    7. Thompson, Jeffrey P. & Rohlin, Shawn M., 2012. "The Effect of Sales Taxes on Employment: New Evidence From Cross-Border Panel Data Analysis," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 65(4), pages 1023-1041, December.
    8. John M. Abowd & Bryce E. Stephens & Lars Vilhuber & Fredrik Andersson & Kevin L. McKinney & Marc Roemer & Simon Woodcock, 2009. "The LEHD Infrastructure Files and the Creation of the Quarterly Workforce Indicators," NBER Chapters, in: Producer Dynamics: New Evidence from Micro Data, pages 149-230, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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