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Federal Deductibility and Local Property Tax Rates

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  • Douglas Holtz-Eakin
  • Harvey S. Rosen

Abstract

In current discussions of tax reform in the United States, there is considerable controversy concerning the effects of allowing individuals to deduct state and local taxes when calculating their federal income tax liability. Recent econometric work has suggested that federal deductibility of state and local taxes has raised the proportion of these taxes -- especially property taxes -- in local budgets. This paper lends additional support to these earlier findings by showing that one channel through which deductibility leads to higher local property tax revenues is by increasing the rate of local property taxation. Specifically, we find that if deductibility were eliminated, the mean property tax rate in our sample of 82 communities would fall by 0.00715 ($7.15 per thousand dollars of assessed property), or 21.1 percent of the mean tax rate.

Suggested Citation

  • Douglas Holtz-Eakin & Harvey S. Rosen, 1987. "Federal Deductibility and Local Property Tax Rates," NBER Working Papers 2427, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:2427
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Hettich, Walter & Winer, Stanley, 1984. "A positive model of tax structure," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 67-87, June.
    2. Feldstein, Martin S & Metcalf, Gilbert E, 1987. "The Effect of Federal Tax Deductibility on State and Local Taxes and Spending," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 95(4), pages 710-736, August.
    3. Bergstrom, Theodore C & Goodman, Robert P, 1973. "Private Demands for Public Goods," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 63(3), pages 280-296, June.
    4. Douglas Holtz-Eakin & Harvey S . Rosen, 1988. "Tax Deductibility and Municipal Budget Structure," NBER Chapters, in: Fiscal Federalism: Quantitative Studies, pages 107-136, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Edwards, John H. Y., 1990. "Congestion function specification and the "publicness" of local public goods," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 80-96, January.
    6. Robert P. Inman, 1985. "Does Deductibility Influence Local Taxation?," NBER Working Papers 1714, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Nechyba, Thomas, 1996. "A computable general equilibrium model of intergovernmental aid," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(3), pages 363-397, November.
    3. Seth Nana Kwame Appiah-Kubi & Karel Malec & Mansoor Maitah & Sandra Boatemaa Kutin & Ludmila Pánková & Joseph Phiri & Orhan Zaganjori, 2020. "The Impact of Corporate Governance Structures on Foreign Direct Investment: A Case Study of West African Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-15, May.
    4. Galle, Brian, 2014. "The effect of national revenues on sub-national revenues evidence from the U.S," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 147-155.
    5. Samuel Kwaku Agyei & Nathaniel Kwapong Obuobi & Mohammed Zangina Isshaq & Mac Junior Abeka & John Gartchie Gatsi & Ebenezer Boateng & Emmanuel Kwakye Amoah, 2022. "Country-Level corporate governance and Foreign Portfolio Investments in Sub-Saharan Africa: The moderating role of institutional quality," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(1), pages 2106636-210, December.
    6. Anderson, Nathan B., 2011. "No relief: Tax prices and property tax burdens," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(6), pages 537-549.
    7. Robert P. Inman, 1989. "The Local Decision to Tax: Evidence from Large U.S. Cities," NBER Working Papers 2921, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Borge, Lars-Erik, 2000. "Charging for public services: the case of utilities in Norwegian local governments," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 703-718, December.
    9. Borge, Lars-Erik & Rattso, J.Jorn, 2004. "Income distribution and tax structure: Empirical test of the Meltzer-Richard hypothesis," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(4), pages 805-826, August.
    10. John M. Foster, 2014. "Tax Exporting and the Business Share of Sales Tax Levies," Public Budgeting & Finance, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(4), pages 80-99, December.
    11. Alberto Sole Olle, 1998. "The effects of tax deductibility on the mix of property taxes and use charges: an empirical analysis of the spanish case," Working Papers in Economics 41, Universitat de Barcelona. Espai de Recerca en Economia.
    12. Ebenezer Boateng & Peterson Owusu Junior & John G. Gatsi & Adam M. Anokye & Mac Junior Abeka & Emmanuel Asafo‐Adjei, 2024. "Institutions and venture capital market development in sub‐Saharan Africa," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 36(2), pages 1381-1406, March.

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