Tax mimicking among local governments : some evidence from Spanish municipalities

The aim of this paper is to study the spatial patterns in the Spanish local tax system. The three most relevant taxes are analyzed: the property tax, the motor vehicle tax and the building activities tax, which jointly represent 80% of the tax revenue at local level in Spain. Using spatial econometr...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Delgado, Francisco J. (author)
Other Authors: Mayor, Matías (author)
Format: article
Language:eng
Published: 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10400.5/15665
Country:Portugal
Oai:oai:www.repository.utl.pt:10400.5/15665
Description
Summary:The aim of this paper is to study the spatial patterns in the Spanish local tax system. The three most relevant taxes are analyzed: the property tax, the motor vehicle tax and the building activities tax, which jointly represent 80% of the tax revenue at local level in Spain. Using spatial econometrics procedures, three alternative weight specifications to define competitors are explored: contiguity, distance and a combination of economic and geographical characteristics. After carrying out an exploratory spatial analysis, the results of the estimation of spatial lag and spatial error models confirm positive spatial- autocorrelation for the property tax and the building activities tax, with an order of magnitude between 0.3 and 0.5. On the contrary, the motor vehicle tax does not exhibit a significant spatial pattern.