Author: Billy Hamilton
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Local taxation
Languages : en
Pages : 598

Get Book Here

Book Description

Author: Texas. Select Committee on Tax Equity
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Local taxation
Languages : en
Pages : 128

Get Book Here

Book Description

Author: Daphne A. Kenyon
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781558442337
Category : Electronic books
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
The use of property tax incentives for business by local governments throughout the United States has escalated over the last 50 years. While there is little evidence that these tax incentives are an effective instrument to promote economic development, they cost state and local governments $5 to $10 billion each year in forgone revenue. Three major obstacles can impede the success of property tax incentives as an economic development tool. First, incentives are unlikely to have a significant impact on a firm's profitability since property taxes are a small part of the total costs for most businesses--averaging much less than 1 percent of total costs for the U.S. manufacturing sector. Second, tax breaks are sometimes given to businesses that would have chosen the same location even without the incentives. When this happens, property tax incentives merely deplete the tax base without promoting economic development. Third, widespread use of incentives within a metropolitan area reduces their effectiveness, because when firms can obtain similar tax breaks in most jurisdictions, incentives are less likely to affect business location decisions. This report reviews five types of property tax incentives and examines their characteristics, costs, and effectiveness: property tax abatement programs; tax increment finance; enterprise zones; firm-specific property tax incentives; and property tax exemptions in connection with issuance of industrial development bonds. Alternatives to tax incentives should be considered by policy makers, such as customized job training, labor market intermediaries, and business support services. State and local governments also can pursue a policy of broad-based taxes with low tax rates or adopt split-rate property taxation with lower taxes on buildings than land.State policy makers are in a good position to increase the effectiveness of property tax incentives since they control how local governments use them. For example, states can restrict the use of incentives to certain geographic areas or certain types of facilities; publish information on the use of property tax incentives; conduct studies on their effectiveness; and reduce destructive local tax competition by not reimbursing local governments for revenue they forgo when they award property tax incentives.Local government officials can make wiser use of property tax incentives for business and avoid such incentives when their costs exceed their benefits. Localities should set clear criteria for the types of projects eligible for incentives; limit tax breaks to mobile facilities that export goods or services out of the region; involve tax administrators and other stakeholders in decisions to grant incentives; cooperate on economic development with other jurisdictions in the area; and be clear from the outset that not all businesses that ask for an incentive will receive one.Despite a generally poor record in promoting economic development, property tax incentives continue to be used. The goal is laudable: attracting new businesses to a jurisdiction can increase income or employment, expand the tax base, and revitalize distressed urban areas. In a best case scenario, attracting a large facility can increase worker productivity and draw related firms to the area, creating a positive feedback loop. This report offers recommendations to improve the odds of achieving these economic development goals.

Author: Terry Burant
Publisher: Rethinking Schools
ISBN: 0942961471
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 393

Get Book Here

Book Description
Teaching is a lifelong challenge, but the first few years in the classroom are typically a teacher's hardest. This expanded collection of writings and reflections offers practical guidance on how to navigate the school system, form rewarding relationships with colleagues, and connect in meaningful ways with students and families from all cultures and backgrounds.

Author: George R. Zodrow
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 232

Get Book Here

Book Description
As state governments grapple with increased revenue needs or demands for state tax reform, they typically must choose between relying on an income tax system or utilizing a sales tax, perhaps in conjunction with a corporate franchise tax. Choosing between these two tax options is often a contentious process, and many arguments can arise in the debates surrounding this issue. In this study of small, open economic systems, George R. Zodrow addresses the relative advantages and disadvantages of state sales and income taxes from an economic perspective. He evaluates the two options in terms of the criteria commonly used in the public finance literature, including economic efficiency, fairness, administrative simplicity, and tax exportability. Zodrow's study emphasizes how the comparison of state sales and income taxes is critically affected by the details of the alternative tax structures being considered, as well as by the nature of the interactions between the economy of a state and the rest of the nation and world, and by the interactions between the state and federal tax systems in the United States. He also considers briefly two alternatives to state sales and income taxes--increased utilization of user charges and the adoption of a state tax based on mildly progressive taxation of individual consumption rather than income. In the chapter, Zodrow applies his analysis to the current Texas tax system as well as proposals for the introduction of a state income tax. This provocative case study will serve as an informative contribution to the continuing public policy debate over the state tax structure.

Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Federal government
Languages : en
Pages : 622

Get Book Here

Book Description
Each issue concentrates on a different topic.

Author: Texas
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Water
Languages : en
Pages : 548

Get Book Here

Book Description

Author: Marilyn Marks Rubin
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1466555416
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 322

Get Book Here

Book Description
State fiscal decisions have a significant impact on the US economy. Taken together, subnational governments employ more than one out of every eight workers and provide the bulk of all basic governmental services consumed by individuals and businesses. Sustaining the States: The Fiscal Viability of American State Governments will give you a basic understanding of trends in, current status of, and future prospects for the fiscal sustainability of state governments. After reading this book, you should have a great appreciation for the reach and multiple contributions of state governments to individuals and communities across the nation. The book examines the broad range and depth of state revenues, responsibilities, and activities. It begins with an assessment of executive budgeting in the states, then presents the experiences of states with strong executive-driven systems and the various rules and institutions that impact state government budget discipline. The book goes on to examine state revenue sources, debt, pensions, and spending, honing in on vital state functions including education, transportation, health services and public safety. It concludes with an assessment of the challenges that will test the fiscal vibrancy of US state governments going forward: vulnerability to future economic downturns, growing dependence on an increasingly austere federal government, the obsolescence of state tax systems and an ever more coercive system of federalism. Edited by experts, with a hand-picked panel of contributors, the book delineates the resources that states generate and use to conduct the business of government. The chapters outline the very real and significant constraints on the ability of the states to fulfill their responsibilities and introduce several challenges that state governments face and are actively addressing as they strive for fiscal sustainability. These features provide a clear, realistic understanding of state operations and financing in the United States, today. The book should also leave you with a sense of optimism for the capacity of state governments to advance forward.

Author: Texas State Publications Clearinghouse
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Government publications
Languages : en
Pages : 908

Get Book Here

Book Description

Author: Texas State Publications Clearinghouse
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : State government publications
Languages : en
Pages : 910

Get Book Here

Book Description