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County Governments and Democratic Decision Making: Explaining Why Counties Seek Approval of Local Option Sales Taxes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2021

Andrew D. Green
Andrew D. Green*
Affiliation:
Central College, Pella, IA, USA
*
Andrew D. Green, Central College, Campus Box No. 0101, 812 University Pella, IA 50219, USA. Email: greena@central.edu
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Abstract

Local option sales taxes have become an important source of local revenue across the United States. Thirty-three of the 50 states have granted authorization to their counties or cities (or both) to levy local option sales taxes, and said taxes generated nearly $50 billion in 2005, which accounted for 11% of all local tax revenue nationwide. Even though local option sales taxes have significant impacts on a county's ability to fund programs and services, little has been written about the decisions of counties to place such taxes on the ballot. Using demographic, fiscal, and political variables, a model is developed that explains the decision to place a county transportation sales tax on the ballot. Modeling and analysis reveal that counties behave strategically as the impact of demographic, fiscal, and political factors on the decision to place a local option sales tax on the ballot is shaped by whether the county is making an initial attempt to adopt, a subsequent attempt to adopt after voter rejection, or a renewal attempt when an existing local option sales tax is nearing its sunset date.

Keywords

legislative behaviorlegislative politicslocal politicsfiscal policypublic policypublic administrationpolicy innovation/diffusion
Type
Research Article
Information
State Politics & Policy Quarterly , Volume 14 , Issue 1 , March 2014 , pp. 50 - 71
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2014

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