scholarly journals Analyzing voter support for California’s local option sales taxes for transportation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Brown ◽  
Jaimee Lederman ◽  
Brian D. Taylor ◽  
Martin Wachs
Keyword(s):  
Sales Taxes ◽  
Local Option

Local Sales Tax and Revenue Volatility

2011 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 167-180
Author(s):  
Yilin Hou ◽  
Jason S. Seligman
Keyword(s):  
Local Property ◽  
Sales Tax ◽  
Property Taxes ◽  
Sales Taxes ◽  
Local Option Sales Tax ◽  
Short Run ◽  
Local Option ◽  
Revenue Volatility ◽  
Mean Variance ◽  
Variance Approach

Abstract States have long used the sales tax as a revenue source. Since the 1970s states started granting localities the option of levying local sales taxes to enrich their revenue portfolio. Local sales taxes are often structured to reduce local property taxes; in most localities this strategy prevails in referendum. Since sales taxes are more elastic than property taxes, substituting away from the latter poses the threat of increased revenue volatility. We employ a panel dataset of counties in the state of Georgia to examine the effects of local option sales tax on own-source revenue volatility. We decompose volatility into the long- and short-run, use a mean-variance approach in considering correct revenue portfolios across tax-instruments, and find that substitution towards sales tax amplifies revenue variability. Our study fills a niche in die revenue volatility literature; our results imply that sales taxes may have been overweighed in current revenue portfolios.

The Effect of Local Option Sales Taxes on Local Sales

2010 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 659-681 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary C. Cornia ◽  
Scott Grimshaw ◽  
Ray Nelson ◽  
Lawrence Walters
Keyword(s):  
Sales Taxes ◽  
Local Option

scholarly journals Lessons Learned from 40 Years of Local Option Transportation Sales Taxes in California

2018 ◽  
Vol 2672 (4) ◽  
pp. 13-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaimee Lederman ◽  
Anne Brown ◽  
Brian D. Taylor ◽  
Martin Wachs
Keyword(s):  
Public Transit ◽  
The United States ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Road Maintenance ◽  
Sales Taxes ◽  
Transportation Projects ◽  
Mode Share ◽  
Road Projects ◽  
Local Option ◽  
Almost All

Jurisdictions across the United States have increasingly turned to local option sales taxes, or LOSTs, to fund transportation projects and programs. California is an enthusiastic adopter of these measures; since 1976, residents in over half of the state’s 58 counties have voted on 76 LOST measures. As of 2017, 24 counties, home to 88% of the state’s population, have LOST measures in place. Many counties have enacted multiple measures, with passage rates especially high among renewal and follow-on measures. This research is the first comprehensive analysis of LOST measures; drawing on measure expenditure plans to determine the range and frequency of transportation projects and services funded. This detailed review of expenditure plans across dozens of urban, suburban, and rural California counties offers insight on these measures and the projects and programs they fund. Overall, this study finds that LOSTs are heterogeneous, often including something for nearly every interest group. Almost all of the measures studied dedicate funding to a mix of transportation modes, including highways, public transit, local road maintenance, and active transportation. Expenditures on particular modes vary, reflecting transportation geography across counties. On average, 60% of LOST expenditures in California fund road projects and over 30% are allocated to public transit. Measures often dedicate a substantially larger share of revenue to transit relative to transit’s mode share. Finally, LOSTs typically appeal to diverse local interests by returning a portion of revenues to local jurisdictions to address local priority projects.

Local option sales taxes and county rainy day funds

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 467-487 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helisse Levine ◽  
Marc Fudge ◽  
Geoffrey Propheter
Keyword(s):  
Selection Bias ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Fiscal Stress ◽  
General Fund ◽  
Sales Taxes ◽  
Fund Balance ◽  
Correction Technique ◽  
Local Option ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Positive Effect

Rainy day stabilization funds (RDSFs) and local option sales taxes (LOSTs) are two strategies local governments deploy to combat fiscal stress. While the literature on both is robust, it has thus far failed to consider empirically that the two may be connected. One way the marginal LOST dollar could be spent is by saving it for future use. We test the connection with a sample of 414 counties and correct for selection bias with the Heckman correction technique. We find that each $10 increase in LOST revenue per capita is associated with a $0.10 increase in undesignated general fund balance. Though small, the positive effect size supports the theory that LOSTs contribute to a greater propensity to save.

Arguing over Transportation Sales Taxes: An Analysis of Equity Debates in Transportation Ballot Measures

2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 640-670
Author(s):  
Jaimee Lederman ◽  
Anne Brown ◽  
Brian D. Taylor ◽  
Martin Wachs
Keyword(s):  
Urban Transportation ◽  
State Funding ◽  
Common Mechanism ◽  
Four Dimensions ◽  
Sales Taxes ◽  
Ballot Measures ◽  
Local Option

What’s a fair way to pay for urban transportation? Local option sales taxes (LOSTs) for transportation are an increasingly common mechanism for locally financing transportation in the context of declining federal and state funding. LOSTs are typically regressive, raising equity concerns. But their fairness also depends on who benefits from them, based on which projects are funded, where projects are located, and when investments occur. We examine how perceptions of these four dimensions of equity (income, geographic, temporal, and modal) are represented and debated in the ballot arguments for 38 LOST elections in California. We find that measure supporters use subtle language to imply that proposed expenditure plans achieve equity on all dimensions, promising “something for everyone.” Measure opponents, by contrast, typically attack specific perceived inequities in proposed expenditure plans. We find that tradeoffs among types of equity debated in ballot arguments frame winners and losers across multiple equity dimensions.

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