Research Details

Abstract

The answer to the question posed in the title depends on which model of local government behavior is operative. If it is the median-voter/benevolent-dictator model, then property tax limits can only be for evil. If it is the Leviathan/budget-maximizing-bureaucratic model, then property tax limits have the potential to improve the welfare of local resident voters. From this perspective, I reassess the empirical literature on state-imposed limits on local property taxes and conclude that the evidence can be interpreted as supportive of the notion that the Leviathan model may be operative and thus that property tax limits have the potential to improve welfare.

Type

Article

Author(s)

Therese J. McGuire

Date Published

1999

Citations

McGuire, Therese J.. 1999. Proposition 13 and Its Offspring: For Good or for Evil?. National Tax Journal.(1): 129-138.