Tax and Expenditure Limits (TEL) Restrictiveness Index

Abstract

These files contain data supporting all results reported in Wen et.al. 2020,“Starving Counties, Squeezing Cities: Tax and Expenditure Limits in the US.”In Wen et al., we found: State-imposed local Tax and Expenditure Limits (TELS) are restricting revenue raising ability of local governments across the U.S. We create a 50-state index to measure the severity of TELS by type of tax limitation (rate limit, tax ceilings, etc.) for each type of local government: county, municipality and school district. We find in states with more restrictive TELs, counties are more restricted, while cities reduce their property tax dependence and shift to alternative revenue sources and incur more debt. State aid does not make up the difference. TELs increase stress for all local governments but are most severe for counties.