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The Impact of an Aging Rural Population on Local Tax Structures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 September 2016

Timothy W. Kelsey ,
Stephen M. Smith  and
A.E. Luloff
Timothy W. Kelsey
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, The Pennsylvania State University
Stephen M. Smith
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, The Pennsylvania State University
A.E. Luloff
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, The Pennsylvania State University
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Abstract

The growing American retired population increasingly is viewed for its economic development potential. The relationship between the elderly and local taxes may have a critical effect on this potential, however. This paper examines the local tax implications of an increasing elderly population in communities prohibiting tax referenda. In such communities, citizens have no direct role in tax decisions. The elderly's attitudes towards different local taxes are examined using telephone survey data, before using aggregate data to investigate the relationship between the elderly and the specific taxes used in communities. The results suggest that a high proportion of elderly do not affect the mix of local taxes, but that an increasing proportion does have an influence.

Type
Articles
Information
Agricultural and Resource Economics Review , Volume 24 , Issue 2 , October 1995 , pp. 174 - 184
Copyright
Copyright © 1995 Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association 

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