LL.D. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Georgia State University, 2006. / Title from title screen. David L. Sjoquist, committee chair; Geoffrey K. Turnbull, Sally Wallace, Michael J. Rushton, committee members. Electronic text (195 p : charts) : digital, PDF file. Description based on contents viewed on June 7, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 181-194).

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This thesis explores several aspects of state and local governments' finances and its interaction with the real economy. The first chapter explores the question of what the fiscal position of local governments is and how the financial market assesses it. I find that a large share of municipalities operate with a negative net position-akin to a negative book equity position in the corporate context. I find that most of the decline in the fiscal position originates from the accumulation of legacy obligations, i.e. pensions and other post-employment benefits (OPEBs); this is recognized by municipal bond markets through higher credit spreads. While accounting values from the annual comprehensive financial reports are informative, they are based on book valuations which potentially convey limited information about the economic value of assets and liabilities. Thus, I turn to the market valuation of local governments' equity by estimating an stochastic discount factor that matches the valuation of a wide range of assets in the economy to prices future tax and expenditure claims. Using market prices for tax and expenditure claims, and market valuations of liability positions I find that the market values of equity are highly correlated with the book values. The negative equity position-in terms of book and market values-for some local governments suggests the presence of implicit insurance by state and federal governments. In the second chapter I utilize quasi-experimental variation in Connecticut to causally estimate the policy response of local governments and the migration response of residents to a large fiscal shock. I find that local governments adjust tax rates to maintain stable tax revenues; there is no change in public employment levels and limited adjustments of public services. The micro data on people's location further allows me to causally estimate the migration elasticity to a change in property tax rates. I find evidence of inter-state migration in response to an increase in property tax rates; and no statistically significant response of intra-state migration. Detailed property and location choice data reveal the elasticity of migration with regard to the property tax bill. An increase in the property tax bill by ten percent leads to an average increase in the migration propensity by about 1.5%. In the third chapter I explore the contribution of the local fiscal constraint channel on the local economy. I show that the observed general equilibrium response to local labor market shocks contains an economically important amplification effect through local financial constraints. At the center of the local fiscal constraint channel is the housing market. Local governments in the United States receive a median share of 63.13% of own source revenues from property taxes. I show that exogenous shocks to local labor markets affect the housing market and exerts fiscal pressure on local government finances. Local governments-on average-increase property taxes and cut amenities. Both policy responses affect the relative attractiveness of a location which amplifies the initial shock. I estimate a multiplier of 1.7x through this local financial constraint channel for employment.

Thesis (doctoral)--Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, Bonn. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 7-13) and index.

This study investigates two specific types of transactions---source of profits and real property gains---in the Hong Kong tax context as well as how the structure of transactions with tax implications affects taxpayers' and stakeholders' decisions in the context of taxation management. Effective tax planning, among other factors, requires the tax planner who makes investment and financing decisions to consider not only explicit taxes but also implicit taxes [Scholes and Wolfson (SW), 1992; 2002]. This study has two main objectives. First, using 73 and 161 published legal case decisions on locality of profits and gains from real property transactions respectively, this study runs binary logit tests to examine the relative significance of the major factors contributing to judicial decisions on locality of profits and gains from real property transactions. As such, it provides business managers with empirical evidence and insightful thoughts on gaining a proper understanding of the structure of business transactions for the purposes of taxation management. Second, it extensively reviews the corporate tax structure in the Asia-Pacific region, international corporate tax research, and the implicit taxes theories, thereby providing the institutional setting for the above empirical work. The empirical results indicate that the factor, "location of services/work rendered" is exceptionally positive and significant to judicial decisions on source of profits; three factors, namely "financial ability of taxpayer", "circumstances leading to disposal", and "stated or actual intention at time of acquisition of subject property" are statistically significant to judicial decisions on gains from real property transactions. The results of both are robust to the two logit models. / Cheung Kowk Chun. / "May 2004." / Adviser: Zhaodong Jiang. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 65-04, Section: A, page: 1438. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 237-260). / Available also through the Internet via Current research @ Chinese University of Hong Kong under title: Taxation management and the structure of transactions evidences of source of profits and real property gains. An implicit tax perspective (China) / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest dissertations and theses, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / School code: 1307.

This study investigates the potential economic impact of a land tax implemented in terms of the Local Government Municipal Property Rates Act No. 6 of 2004 (“the LGMPRA”) on selected commercial farms in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) using individual farm data for the period 2001-2006. The study first presents a brief history of land taxes around the world, describing the origins, prevalence and rates of land tax in the United States of America (USA), Australia, Britain and some Nordic countries. This sets the background for a brief history of land taxation in South Africa up to the implementation of the LGMPRA. The study then identifies the economic effects of a land tax, highlighting issues such as the capitalization of a land tax, relevant views of this tax, valuation methodologies, the advantages and disadvantages of a land tax, and the effects of a land tax on future capital investment on farms. Thirdly, the study presents key provisions in the LGMPRA pertaining to farmers with regard to land tax rebates, reductions and exemptions, farmland valuations and the determination of a land tax rate. The effect and applicability of these rebates, reductions and exemptions on the effective land tax rate are also discussed. Fourthly, the study uses a Residual Income Methodology (RIM) framework to estimate the annual economic profit (return to risk and land excluding capital gains) for five different case study farms in the Mtonjaneni and Umgeni municipal districts of KZN. This RIM framework makes allowance for the opportunity cost of management in estimating annual economic profit. These case studies are typical of the main farming enterprises in KZN such as sugarcane, timber, intensive poultry, intensive dairy, cattle, maize and potatoes. Sensitivity analysis is then applied to assess the effect of land tax rates ranging from 0.5% to 5% of the market value of land and fixed improvements on the five farms’ ability to pay a land tax after accounting for rebates proposed by the Department: Provincial and Local Government (DPLG). The estimated mean annual rate of return to risk and land (excluding capital gains) prior to the land tax for the five case study farms during 2001-2006 ranged from -8.50% to 2.94%, with an average of -1.74%. The case farms’ ability to pay a land tax rate of 1% on the value of improved land with and without proposed DPLG rebates from annual current operating returns ranged from zero to five out of five years, with an average of two out of five years. A 2% land tax rate with such rebates could be financed using annual current operating returns also only in two out of five years on average. These results suggest that land taxes at the proposed rates of 1.5% (Mtonjaneni) or 1% (Umgeni) on these specific farms would markedly reduce the incentive to invest in farm improvements These results also indicate that further research in KZN and other provinces in South Africa needs to be conducted to help ascertain the effects of the implementation of the LGMPRA in other municipalities. / Thesis (M.Agric.Man.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.

Concern that high property taxation of agricultural land encourages its conversion to nonagricultural uses has led to the adoption of use-value taxation practices. Use-value taxation has had mixed results as a deterrent to the conversion of agricultural and open space land. It has been argued that use-value taxation does not succeed in retaining open space along the rura1-urban fringe (Stocker 1975; Ferguson), and further that such programs may actually lower the community's property tax base significantly (Tiebout; Anderson 1993). Additionally, when land is taxed by its use-value rather than market-value, the local tax base declines curtailing local public services and consequently reducing the attractiveness of the community for residential, commercial and industrial land uses (Abeyratne and Johnson, Bickerdike, Netzer, Oates). This study seeks to determine the fiscal impacts of use-value taxation and incurred and immediate revenues generated by a particular land use project. By comparing the net impact on the property tax rate of different land uses, the effectiveness of land use taxation policies for communities can be determined. The fiscal impact of alternative land uses are measured using The Virginia Impact Projection (VIP) model. The empirical models employed are based on a static cross-sectional econometric analysis of Virginia counties initially developed by Johnson and Keeling and updated for the current analysis using more recent data. The empirical equations are used to construct a fiscal impact assessment (simulation) model. The simulation model allows the comparison of impact and baseline scenarios developed using alternative land uses. It was found that the impact of farmland enrollment in use-value assessment programs is not as large when net impacts are considered rather than sole consideration of the direct property tax revenue changes. / Master of Science