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TAXATION AND MIGRATION edited by REUVEN S. AVI-YONAH AND JOEL SLEMROD (Kluwer Law International, 2015, Leiden, The Netherlands, 216 pages) Upon first hearing the title of this book, I assumed, [...]

I. INTRODUCTION State taxation of insurance companies differs from state taxation of other corporations that states levy premium taxes, which are essentially gross receipts taxes, on premiums written by insurance [...], States levy insurance premium taxes, which are essentially gross receipt taxes on premiums, with insurers paying the higher of the tax rate in the state in which the company is domiciled and the state in which the policy is written. Using a state-level panel data set from 1996-2010 for the property-casualty, insurance industry, the paper explores the effect of insurance premium tax rates on interstate differences in property-casualty insurance industry employment and other measures of industry size. While the estimated elasticities of industry size with respect to the tax rate differ across models, the results' indicate that the insurance premium tax has a large, negative, and economically significant effect on the size of the insurance industry in a state. Keywords: insurance premium tax, state employment, industry location JEL Codes: H7, L84, R11

We combine records of Atlanta Housing Authority (AHA) clients, Georgia Department of Labor (DOL) employment records, and neighborhood characteristics to analyze the causal effect of an exogenous move out of public housing on the employment of public housing residents. The exogenous move was caused by a HOPE VI or HOPE VI-like project in Atlanta. We find that such an exogenous move has a positive and statistically significant effect on the probability of employment for those residents who moved relative to other public housing tenants. We also compare the change in employment of those whose exogenous move was to another public housing unit to those who took a housing voucher. We also compare the change in the probability of employment associated with an exogenous move and a voluntary move and find that both types of moves are associated with a greater probability of employment as compared to those who did not move. JEL Classification: R2, H5, J6, 1. Introduction In 2000, there were approximately 4.9 million U.S. households living in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-subsidized housing. (1) In an effort to revitalize distressed public [...]

ABSTRACT The 2001 recession had a major effect on Georgia's fiscal condition. We explore how economic conditions affected state and local financing of K- 12 education in Georgia. We find [...]

INTRODUCTION The Multistate Tax Commission (MTC) was established out of concern over the lack of uniformity in interstate taxation and the fear that in the absence of voluntary uniformity the [...], Concerns over nonconformity of state tax systems mounted through the 20th century as the multistate presence of businesses expanded. Fearing federal intervention and the loss of state tax sovereignty, the Multistate Tax Commission (MTC) was established in 1967 to help promote uniformity in state taxation. This paper examines the role of the MTC in securing greater uniformity of state corporate income taxes. We discuss the activities of the MTC, the prospect for securing voluntary interstate cooperation, the degree of uniformity achieved by the MTC and alternative mechanisms for achieving greater harmony in state taxation.

INTRODUCTION The corporate income tax has been an important source of federal tax revenue since it was created in 1909, but has been less important to states and even less [...], This paper examines alternative explanations for the decline over the past two decades in state corporate income taxes relative to the state economy. We employ a survey of state tax administrators, individual tax returns from Georgia and Utah, and panel data to explore the importance of tax policy, tax planning, and economic factors on the trend in state corporate taxes. We find that corporate tax planning and economic factors account for much of the relative decline, and that state tax policy changes are important factors. However, federal tax changes had only a modest effect during this period.

During the 1980s, many urban areas in the United States experienced a widespread expansion in the use of drugs in general and crack cocaine in particular. This expansion of crack use is thought to have resulted in various behavioral changes, e.g., an increase in crime and an increase in expenditures to reduce drug use. This paper examines how local police spending responded to the spread of crack cocaine. We use a pooled cross-section, time series data set consisting of 18 cities over the period 1982 through 1989 to estimate the impact of crack cocaine use on police spending, and find that police expenditures increased significantly as crack cocaine use rose.

INTRODUCTION Much has been made over time of the existence of a marriage tax and subsidy. This literature has focused on the issue of the equity of a marriage tax [...], The effect of the differential tax treatment of married and unmarried couples, the so-called marriage tax, on the rate and timing of marriages is analyzed Using time-series data, we study the effect of the marriage tax on the fraction of unmarried women over the age of 15 years who marry in each year. We find no effect We also investigate whether couples shift the timing of their marriage from the end of one year to the beginning of the next year in response to an increase in the marriage tax. We find empirical support for this behavior.

Travel costs and metropolitan decentralization account for differences in the employment rates, wages, durations and travel time between white and black youth. The 'spatial mismatch hypothesis' accounts for this phenomenon, stating that inner-city blacks are at a disadvantage relative to suburban residents as jobs shift toward the suburbs. Previous findings have supported this hypothesis by documenting an inverse relation between job access in terms of travel time and employment rates for blacks, across metropolitan areas. The persistence of the labor market mismatch is examined in the context of barriers to the relocation of blacks to the suburbs, in order to explain why blacks do not adjust to job decentralization by moving out of the inner cities. Analysis of data from the 1981-1982 National Longitudinal Survey Youth Cohort suggests that high travel costs in terms of time for blacks living in these areas prevent them from commuting to follow jobs.

Two specifications of a simple general equilibrium model of a local public goods economy with median voters setting tax-expenditure package in each location arepresented. Property tax and local income tax are compared within the specifications of the model. It is shown that price, income, utility level and allocation of individuals across jurisdictions are dependent on the tax regime used.

Summary. This paper examines the effect of access to employment opportunities on the employment probabilities of black and white youth aged 16-19 years. The empirical results, based on data from the central cities of 43 SMSAs, suggest that the nearness of jobs is an important determinant of teenager employment probability.

Research on spatial mismatch focuses towards its effects on job access and not on the device through which the effects operate. Relatively poorer labor market outcomes, for less-skilled inner-city minorities, are credited for the existence of spatial mismatch.

An extensive review and evaluation of all aspects of Georgia's BEST program, an income tax credits was conducted, including the effect of job tax credits on job creation. The study concluded that most eligible firms did not participate in BEST, that the job tax credits jobs, and that there were many problems with the structure of BEST.

Bidding for Business: The Efficacy of Local Economic Development Incentives in a Metropolitan Area. By JOHN E. ANDERSON and ROBERT W. WASSMER. Kalamazoo, MI: W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, [...]

INTRODUCTION The use of retail sales taxes began in the 1930s; it is now used by 46 states, 33 of which allow a local option rate, generally piggybacked on the [...], The National Tax Association's project on the taxation of telecommunications and electronic commerce recommended that each state employing a sales and use tax consider adopting a single statewide rate rather than continue with the number of rates currently in use. This recommendation was made in response to the criticism that current state sales and use tax schemes are too complex to expect multi-state vendors to collect and remit the sales tax in thousands of state and local jurisdictions. This article reviews the history of single rate suggestions and the problems ,for state and local governments that are expected to develop under such a proposal. The feasibility of adopting such a policy in five states, California, Georgia, New York, Tennessee, and Utah, is analyzed. The results of the examination reveal that the proposal is administratively feasible and simplification could be achieved. In some states the adoption of a single rate would result in modest tax revenue shifts, but in others the revenue readjustments would be significant. All states would,face sizable political obstacles to a single rate proposal. We conclude that states should consider using a single rate,for use tax collections and continue the use o,f multiple rates,for in-state sales tax collections. Regardless, states must actively pursue polices to simplify their current tax processes at every opportunity.

Summary. This paper makes use of a unique data set to explore the issue of whether inner-city residents are more likely to be hired by a new inner-city development than [...]

The impact of job decentralization policies on the economic welfare of central city blacks and whites are examined. Data was collected from a sample of 578 black males, 334 black females, 317 white males, and 87 white females living in 136 different central cities. None of the subjects had more than a high school education. that job decentralization has had a substantial negative impact on both white and black males, and that it has had a lesser negative impact on black females. Even though both blacks and whites receive the same negative impact, blacks as a whole are more adversely affected because: blacks are concentrated in central cities; the percentage of the black population with only a high school degree is larger than for whites; and blacks are less likely than whites to migrate to the suburbs to follow jobs.

INTRODUCTION Empirical estimates of economies of scale in the provision of government services are useful in decisions regarding jurisdiction or service consolidations, and in decisions concerning the reassignment of functions [...], We estimate the costs of performing property tax assessments using a translog cost function over a sample of 138 county-level assessment offices in Georgia. We find that there are substantial economies of scale. For example, computed at the sample means, a ten percent increase in the volume of assessments results in an increase of approximately three percent in total costs. The model considers both the number of parcels and the value of parcels as alternate measures of volume; both measures give similar results. We also estimate a two-product cost function, with residential and nonresidential property assessment as the different outputs. These results show no evidence of economies of scope, and calculated economies of scale are very close to the single output results.