On the determinants of local tax ratesnew evidence from Spain

  1. Delgado Rivero, Francisco J. 2
  2. Lago Peñas, Santiago 1
  3. Mayor Fernández, Matías 2
  1. 1 Universidade de Vigo
    info

    Universidade de Vigo

    Vigo, España

    ROR https://ror.org/05rdf8595

  2. 2 Universidad de Oviedo
    info

    Universidad de Oviedo

    Oviedo, España

    ROR https://ror.org/006gksa02

Libro:
XVIII Encuentro de economía pública

Editorial: [s.l: s.n.]

Año de publicación: 2011

Congreso: Encuentro de Economía Pública (18. 2011. Málaga)

Tipo: Aportación congreso

Resumen

This paper studies the determinants of local tax rates. For the two main local taxes in Spain - the property tax and the motor vehicle tax - we test the existence of tax mimicking, yardstick competition and political trends in a sample of 2,713 municipalities. Using different spatial models, the results support the hypothesis of tax mimicking, with coefficients over 0.40. We also show the relevance of political variables such as the ideology of the incumbents and political fragmentation. The fact that incumbents with weaker political support display stronger mimicking behaviour is interpreted as evidence in favour of yardstick competition. Finally, we find incumbents mimic neighbouring municipalities ruled by the same political party, confirming the political trends hypothesis.