• Media type: Report; E-Book
  • Title: Lost in America: Evidence on Local Sales Taxes from National Panel Data
  • Contributor: Agrawal, David [Author]
  • Published: Munich: Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo), 2014
  • Language: English
  • Keywords: tax systems ; municipal autonomy ; L81 ; K34 ; R10 ; R50 ; H20 ; fiscal federalism ; spatial tax competition ; commodity taxation ; H71 ; H77 ; local public finance
  • Origination:
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  • Description: This paper studies comprehensive national panel data of local option sales taxes at the monthly frequency. I calculate state-by-month population weighted averages of local sales tax rates. I document ten stylized facts concerning the time series patterns and spatial dynamics of local sales taxes. The paper then considers a tax system approach to tax competition where states compete on a variety of margins that are often ignored by the standard focus on tax rates. Using the state-by-month averages, I find a significant association between one state's tax system and its neighboring states' tax systems.
  • Access State: Open Access