Forward
This study examines the extent to which states have devolved one of the most fundamental decisions in transportation policy–whether to use taxation powers to fund transportation improvements–to local and regional governments. The purpose of the study is to generate a baseline of knowledge on "local option transportation taxes" in all fifty states, including the relevant legislative authority for these taxes, the extent to which local areas have adopted them, and the roles they play within their states’ overall transportation finance frameworks.
This document presents the detailed findings of a study on local option taxes in all fifty states. For a discussion of our key findings, please see the accompanying report on Issues and Trends.
For the purposes of this study, a "local option transportation tax" is a tax that varies within a state, with revenues controlled at the local or regional level, and earmarked for transportation-related purposes. This definition excludes taxes that are adopted at a uniform rate statewide, even if the revenues accrue to local governments. It includes taxes that may be directly imposed by a state law, if they cover only a portion of the state.
Research approach
This study was conducted over the course of one year. The first stage of the project involved an examination of existing sources of data on local transportation finance, including publications from the Federal Highway Administration, Federal Transit Administration, and the U.S. Census Bureau, as well as publications by non-governmental entities such as the Commerce Clearing House and the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations. The information contained in these varied sources provided a useful foundation of knowledge from which we could develop state-specific research questions.
In the spring and summer, we sent information requests to state departments of transportation, departments of revenue, associations of counties, and major transit agencies. We supplemented the data they provided with an independent examination of laws governing local option taxes and a search of state web pages for publications and data on local tax rates and revenues.
We also surveyed city and county governments in a dozen states (Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington) to develop a more detailed picture of how various local option transportation taxes are actually implemented. These states were chosen to ensure inclusion of the largest and most internally diverse states, while also representing a broad mix of geographic locations, growth rates, and tax policy traditions.
To arrive at this list, we first chose the two largest states in each of four major geographic regions in the U.S. (New York and Pennsylvania in the Northeast, Illinois and Ohio in the Midwest, Florida and Texas in the South, and California and Washington in the West). To this list, we added Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Missouri, and Nevada because these mid- and small-sized states have been particularly active in their use of local option transportation taxes. Finally, we decided not to include California because written surveys were unlikely to produce more detailed information than were available from state publications and individual county transportation authorities.
Finally, we asked local experts in local transportation finance to review the accuracy of our conclusions, and to help fill our in remaining data gaps. We also invited the reviewers to help provide additional background information on their states, including on policy issues and trends.
About this document
This report presents our findings for each state in three sections.
Dedicated local taxes are not the only source of revenue used to fund transportation investments at the local level, nor are they the largest. Around the country, local governments in different states rely to varying degrees on many different funding sources to fund their transportation needs: general revenues; grants and other revenue streams from state and federal governments; revolving loan funds; contributions from the private sector; tolls, fares, and other user fees; and general obligation bonds. This study is intended to shed light on a particular form of finance that has been growing in importance, not to provide a comprehensive picture of transportation funding at the local level.
Bibliography
Nationwide
Beale, Henry B. R., Elbert R. Bishop, and William G. Marley, "How to Pass Local Option Taxes to Finance Transportation Projects," Transportation Research Record 1558 (1997).
Demery, Leroy, "U.S. Transit Funding," Modern Tramway (March, August 1990).
Demery, Leroy W., Jr. "A retrospect of rail transit financing votes in the U.S., 1962-1994: Part 1: Metropolitan regions outside of California." Headlights 58:1-2 (January-February, 1996).
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Demery, Leroy W., Jr. "A retrospective of rail transit financing votes in the United States: Part 3." Headlights 58:7-8 (May-June, 1996).
Mackey, Scott and Mandy Rafool, "State and Local Value-Based Taxes on Motor Vehicles," National Conference of State Legislatures (1998). [http://www.ncsl.org/programs/fiscal/autotaxs.htm]
Mackey, Scott R., "Critical issues in state-local fiscal policy: A guide to local option taxes," Denver: National Conference of State Legislatures (1997).
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Alabama
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Alabama Department of Revenue, "Current Sales Tax Rates for the Month of October 2000." [http://www.ador.state.al.us/salestax/sales/streport.pdf].
Alabama Department of Revenue, "General Summary of State Taxes," (1999). [http://www.ador.state.al.us/gensum.pdf.]
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Alabama Department of Revenue, Property Tax Division, "1999 County Millage Rate Book," (1999). [http://www.ador.state.al.us/advalorem/other/millagerates.htm.]
Alabama Motor Fuel Tax Reporting Service , "Local Motor Fuel Taxes," (January, 2000).
Association of County Commissions of Alabama, "Comparative Data on Alabama Counties," 6th Edition (2000).
Alaska
Alaska Department of Administration, Division of Motor Vehicles, "Motor Vehicle Registration Fees and Taxes," (2000). [http://www.state.ak.us/dmv/reg/feemvrt.htm]
Alaska Department of Community and Economic Development, "Alaska Tax Facts," (2000). [http://www.dced.state.ak.us/mra/TaxFacts.htm]
Alaska Department of Community and Regional Affairs, "Alaska Taxable 1998: Municipal Taxation, Rates, and Policies," (January 1999). [http://www.dced.state.ak.us/mra/98Taxable.pdf].
Alaska Department of Transportation, Local Highway Finance Reports FHWA-536 (1998).
Letter from Alaska Municipal League (28 July, 2000).
Arizona
Arizona Department of Revenue, "Arizona State, County And City Transaction Privilege And Other Tax Rate Tables," (2000). [http://www.revenue.state.az.us/ratetbl1.htm]
Arizona Department of Revenue, 1999 Annual Report. [http://www.revenue.state.az.us/annualreport/INDEX.pdf]
Arizona Department of Transportation, Detailed Local Highway Finance Reports (FHWA-536), (1997).
Cannella, David, "Tempe backs tax for mass transit," The Arizona Republic (September 11, 1996)
Ingley, Kathleen, "Freeway Tax Hike Rejected; Voter Trust on Use of Funds Was Issue," The Arizona Republic (November 9, 1994).
Magruder, Janie and Betty Beard, "Chandler puts brakes on transit tax," The Arizona Republic (May 19, 1999).
Pitzl, Mary Jo and Kathleen Ingley, "Corporate Support Puts Transit Tax Over the Top; Results Dramatic Change from 1997 Defeat," The Arizona Republic (March 15, 2000).
Transit 2000, "Elements Included in the 20-Year .4% Sales Tax Program," (2000). [http://www.transit2000.org/]
Arkansas
Arkansas Assessment Coordination Department, Unpublished data on county assessed values (2000).
Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, Sales and Use Tax section, "Local Tax Rates," (2000). [http://www.state.ar.us/dfa/taxes/salestax/rates2.htm]
Association of Arkansas Counties, "County Government Tax Levies for 2000," (January 2000). [http://www.arcounties.org/pdf/taxlevy.pdf]
Letter from Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department (April 28, 2000).
California
Bay Area Air Quality Management District, "Transportation Fund for Clean Air Annual Report," San Francisco (March 15, 2000). [http://www.baaqmd.gov/planning/plntrns/annrep00.pdf]
California State Controller, Transportation Planning Agencies Annual Report, Fiscal Year 1997-98 (March, 2000).
California State Controller, Transit Operators and Non-Transit Claimants Annual Report, Fiscal Year 1997-98 (October, 1999).
California State Controller, Streets and Roads Annual Report, Fiscal Year 1997-98 (October, 1999).
California State Controller, Division of Accounting and Reporting, "Allocation of $1.00 State Vehicle Registration Collections for Abandoned Vehicle Abatement 1998/99 Fiscal Year" (1999). [http://www.sco.ca.gov/ard/payments/abandon/aban9899.pdf]
Self-Help Counties Coalition, "We Deliver Transportation," (1999).
Colorado
Colorado Department of Local Affairs, "Colorado Sales/Use Tax Rates," (2000). [http://www.revenue.state.co.us/TPS_dir/drp1002.html].
Colorado Department of Local Affairs, Division of Property Taxation, "1999 Annual Report" (2000).
Colorado Department of Revenue, "1999 Annual Report," (January, 2000). [http://www.revenue.state.co.us/stats_dir/anlrpt99.pdf]
Colorado Department of Revenue, "County and Municipal Financial Compendium," (2000). [http://www.dlg.oem2.state.co.us/fs/compend.htm]
Colorado Department of Transportation, "1998 Annual Statement of Receipts and Expenditures for Roads, Bridges and Streets," (1999).
Letter from E-470 Public Highway Authority (October 27, 2000).
Regional Transportation District, "Transit Planning History," (2000). [http://www.rtd-denver.com/History/]
Young, Ricky, "Green lights on transit; Rail, highway packages draw strong support," Denver Post (Nov. 3, 1999).
Young, Ricky, "Guide the Ride derailed; Metro voters say no to transit proposal," Denver Post (Nov. 5, 1997).
Connecticut
Connecticut Department of Transportation, "Summary of Receipts per Town Reports for Fiscal Year 1998-99."
Florida
County of Sarasota Clerk of Circuit Court, "Report on Major Revenue Sources, Year Ended September 30, 2000" (2001). [http://www.clerk.co.sarasota.fl.us/finance/Revrpt.pdf]
Florida Department of Revenue, "Florida Local Tax Types," (2000) [http://sun6.dms.state.fl.us/dor/taxes/taxtypes.html]
Florida Department of Revenue, "Florida Property Valuations and Tax Data," (December, 1999). [http://sun6.dms.state.fl.us/dor/property/99FLpropdata.pdf]
Florida Department of Revenue, "Local Government Revenue Estimates," (2000) [http://fcn.state.fl.us/lcir/estimates/logovest.html]
Florida Department of Revenue, "State and Local Tax Receipts: Fiscal Year 2000" (August, 2000). [http://sun6.dms.state.fl.us/dor/tables/f2fy00.html]
Florida Department of Transportation, Financial Planning Office, "Transportation Financing," (August, 1999). [http://www.dot.state.fl.us/financialplanning/finance.pdf]
Florida Department of Transportation, Office of Management and Budget, "Florida’s Transportation Tax Sources: A Primer," (2000). [http://www.dot.state.fl.us/financialplanning/taxprimer.pdf]
Florida Legislative Committee on Intergovernmental Relations, "Estimated 2000 Federal, State, and Local Fuel Tax Rates in Florida’s Counties," (July, 2000). [http://fcn.state.fl.us/lcir/estimates/fuelrate.pdf]
Florida Legislative Committee on Intergovernmental Relations, "Levy of Discretionary Sales Surtaxes," (September, 2000). [http://fcn.state.fl.us/lcir/estimates/surtax4.pdf]
Jacksonville Transportation Authority, "Our History," (2000). [http://www.jtaonthemove.com/historyJTA.htm]
Pilla, Jen, "Penny tax may be losing its luster," St. Petersburg Times (February 11, 1997)
Pilla, Jen, "Officials tout value of 48,600,000,000 pennies," St. Petersburg Times (March 2, 1997).
Seeman, Bruce Taylor, "Metrorail in 21st Century: Tax would fund 90 new miles," Miami Herald (July 26, 1999).
Georgia
Association of County Commissioners of Georgia, "2001 Legislative Priorities" (2000). [http://www.accg.org/static/2001legpri.pdf]
Georgia Department of Revenue, Property Tax Division, "2000 Motor Vehicle Millage Rate Manual," (2000). [http://www2.state.ga.us/departments/dor/ptd/cds/mvman/2000/mrman.html]
Georgia Department of Revenue, Property Tax Division, "County Ad Valorem Tax Digest Consolidated Summary," (1999). [http://www2.state.ga.us/departments/dor/ptd/cds/csheets/index.html]
Georgia Department of Revenue, Sales and Use Tax Division, "Rate of Sales Tax by County as of October 1, 1998." [http://www2.state.ga.us/departments/dor/taxinfo/4qtr_98.htm]
Georgia Secretary of State, "1% Sales Tax Election Results" (2000). [http://www.sos.state.ga.us/cgi-bin/SalesTaxElectionsIndex.asp]
Gwinnett County Citizens Project Selection Committee, "CPSC Recommended Funds for 2001 DOT SPLOST Projects" (Nov. 1, 2000). [http://www.co.gwinnett.ga.us/Low/News/press_cpsc_funds.htm]
Nurse, Doug, "Extension of SPLOST has drawn dispute," The Atlanta Journal and Constitution (Nov. 6, 2000).
Hawaii
City and County of Honolulu, "Schedule of Revenues — Budget and Actual for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1998."
Hawaii Department of Taxation, "Outline of the Hawaii Tax System as of July 1, 1999" (1999). [http://www.state.hi.us/tax/pubs/99outline.pdf]
Hawaii Department of Taxation, "Schedule of Fuel Tax Rates" (1999). [http://www.state.hi.us/tax/announce/99ann13a.htm]
Letter from City and County of Honolulu, Department of Transportation Services (November 22, 2000).
Letter from County of Hawaii, Department of Public Works (October 27, 2000).
Letter from County of Kauai, Department of Public Works (December 19, 2000).
Letter from County of Maui, Department of Public Works and Waste Management (November 13, 2000).
Idaho
Idaho Department of Transportation, Detailed Local Highway Finance Report (FHWA-536), (1997).
Idaho State Tax Commission, "Sales and Use Tax (section 800)," [http://www2.state.id.us/tax/answers.htm#801]
Illinois
Baden, Brett M. and Don L. Coursey, "An Examination of the Effects of Impact Fees on Chicago’s Suburbs," Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies, University of Chicago (1999). [http://www.harrisschool.uchicago.edu/pdf/WP_99_20.pdf]
City of Chicago, Department of Revenue, "City of Chicago Business Taxes," (2000). [http://www.ci.chi.il.us/Revenue/Tax/TaxTable.html].
Cook County Bureau of Finance, Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the Fiscal Year Ended November 30, 1998 (1999). [http://www.co.cook.il.us/BOF/98cafr]
Illinois Department of Revenue, 1999 Annual Report. [http://www.revenue.state.il.us/publications/AnnualReport/1999/]
Illinois Department of Revenue, Taxpayer Services Guide (2000). [http://www.revenue.state.il.us/publications/8.pdf]
Indiana
Financing Infrastructure Redevelopment and Economic Development Projects, Indianapolis: Ice Miller Donadio & Ryan (1995).
Indiana Department of Revenue, 2000 Annual Report (October 2000). [http://www.state.in.us/dor/pubs/report/00pdf/annrpt00all.pdf]
Indiana State Board of Tax Commissioners, unpublished data on "Cumulative Bridge, Major Bridge, and Transportation Revenues and Rates for 2000."
Iowa
Iowa County Engineers Association Service Bureau, "Iowa Local Option Sales Tax (1% of Sales) Imposed by County in the Unincorporated Area," (2000). [http://cfapps.iceasb.org/DocumentLibrary/ViewFile.cfm?Document_ID=2033]
Iowa Department of Revenue and Finance, "Iowa Local Option Questions and Answers," (2000). [http://www.state.ia.us/government/drf/educate/78601.html]
Iowa Department of Revenue and Finance, "Iowa Tax Types and Rates," (2000). [http://www.state.ia.us/government/drf/taxlaw/taxtypes.html]
Iowa Department of Revenue and Finance, "Local Option Jurisdictions and Rates," (2000). [http://www.state.ia.us/government/drf/business/lostcou.pdf]
Iowa Department of Transportation, "Combined Local Highway Finance Report" (1999).
Iowa Department of Transportation, "Summary of Iowa County Engineers Annual Highway Report" Fiscal Year 1999 (2000).
Iowa Department of Transportation, Unpublished data on "Cities Levying for Transit 1995-2000" (2000).
Kansas
Hooper, Michael, "Sales tax extension narrowly approved," The Topeka Capital-Journal (November 8, 2000).
Kansas Association of Counties, Research Report, (February 2000). [http://www.ink.org/public/kac/FEBRept.pdf]
Kansas Department of Revenue, "Local Sales Tax Rates for Counties and Cities in Kansas," (2000). [http://www.ink.org/public/kdor/pdf/st100.pdf]
Kansas Department of Revenue, Office of Policy and Research, Unpublished data on local tax expiration dates and earmarks (2000).
Letter from Kansas Department of Revenue (October 12, 2000).
Letter from Kansas Department of Revenue (October 17, 2000).
Letter from Kansas Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Planning (June 16, 2000).
Kentucky
Kentucky Revenue Cabinet, "Property Tax Rates 1999." [http://www.state.ky.us/agencies/revenue/pdf/RateBook1999.pdf]
Kentucky Revenue Cabinet, "Tax Facts: A Digest of Kentucky Tax Laws," (1998). [http://www.state.ky.us/agencies/revenue/pdf/taxfacts.pdf]
Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, "Local Highway Finance Report (FHWA-536)" (1997).
Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky, "TANK History," (2000). [http://www.tankbus.org/blank_history.html]
Louisiana
Donze, Frank, "Streetcars Get Boost as Hotel Tax Kicks In," The Times-Picayune (August 1, 2000).
Letter from Regional Planning Commission (November 28, 2000).
Louisiana Association of Tax Administrators, Data on Parish Tax Agencies. [http://www.laota.com/pta.htm]
Louisiana Department of Revenue, "Louisiana Tax Facts," (2000) [http://www.rev.state.la.us/taxforms/R20162.pdf]
New Orleans Regional Planning Commission, "Local Parish Street Financing in the Five Parishes of the Regional Planning Commission" (May 1998).
Maine
Letter from Maine Municipal Association (November 3, 2000).
State of Maine, Bureau of Revenue Services, "1996 Maine Municipal Tax Rates," (1996). [http://janus.state.me.us/revenue/property/homepage.htm].
State of Maine, Bureau of Revenue Services, "Overview of Maine Taxes," (2000). [http://janus.state.me.us/revenue/overview.pdf]
Maryland
Comptroller of Maryland, "A quick guide to taxes collected in Maryland," (2000) [http://www.comp.state.md.us/mdtaxes/taxes.asp].
Montgomery County Maryland Department of Finance, Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (Fiscal Year 1999). [http://www.co.mo.md.us/services/finance/pdf_finReports/FY99/stats99.pdf]
Massachusetts
Massachusetts Department of Revenue, Division of Local Services, "Municipal Data Bank — Fiscal Year 1998 ‘Cherry Sheets’" (1997). [http://www.state.ma.us/dls/mdmstuf/cs98.xls]
Massachusetts Department of Revenue, Division of Local Services, "Municipal Data Bank — Capital Exclusion Votes, FY88 - FY99" (2000) [http://www.state.ma.us/dls/mdmstuf/Cap8899.xls]
Massachusetts Department of Revenue, Division of Local Services, "Municipal Data Bank —Override Votes, FY90 - FY2000" (2000) [http://www.state.ma.us/dls/mdmstuf/Over9000.xls]
Massachusetts Department of Revenue, Division of Local Services, "FY98 Cherry Sheet Manual" (November, 1997). [http://www.state.ma.us/dls/webman.pdf]
McCarthy, Jean, "Focus: Motor Vehicle Excise," Massachusetts Department of Revenue, Division of Local Services (October 1999). [http://www.state.ma.us/dls/mdm/motorvehicle/motorvehicle.htm].
Michigan
Citizens Research Council of Michigan, "A Bird’s Eye View of Michigan Local Government at the End of the Twentieth Century," Report 326 (August 1999). [http://www.crcmich.org/PUBLICAT/1990s/1999/RPT326.PDF]
Citizens Research Council of Michigan, "Outline of the Michigan Tax System, Twentieth Edition," Report 327 (October 1999). [http://www.crcmich.org/TaxOutline/]
Michigan Department of Transportation, Detailed Local Highway Finance Report (FHWA-536), (1997).
Minnesota
City of Hermantown, Office of the Mayor, "State of the City Address," (February 7 ,2000) [http://www.hermantownmn.com/stateofthecity/].
Letter from City of Duluth (June 15, 2000).
Letter from City of Rochester Finance Department (June 15, 2000).
Letter from Cook County (June 15, 2000).
Letter from the Minnesota Office of the State Auditor (October 24, 2000).
Minnesota Department of Revenue, "Local city and county sales tax information," (2000). [http://www.taxes.state.mn.us/salestax/factshts/local.html]
Minnesota Department of Revenue, Tax Research Division, "Minnesota Tax Handbook: A Profile of State and Local Taxes In Minnesota," 1998 Edition. (March, 1999). [http://www.taxes.state.mn.us/reports/hndbk98.pdf]
Minnesota Department Of Transportation, "Statistical And Financial Information - Minnesota Townships By County," Fiscal Year 1998.
Minnesota Department Of Transportation, "Statistical And Financial Information - Minnesota Counties," Fiscal Year 1998.
State of Minnesota, Office of the State Auditor, Government Information Division, "Revenues, Expenditures, and Debt of Minnesota Cities Over 2,500 in Population for the Year Ended December 31, 1998," (July 2000). [http://www.osa.state.mn.us/reports/gid/1998/lcRED/report.pdf]
State of Minnesota, Office of the State Auditor, Government Information Division, "Revenues, Expenditures, and Debt of Minnesota Counties for the Year Ended December 31, 1998," (September 2000). [http://www.osa.state.mn.us/reports/gid/1998/coRED/report.pdf]
Twin Cities Metropolitan Council, "Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, Year Ended December 31, 1999," (June 2000).
Mississippi
Mississippi Department of Transportation, "Local Highway Finance Report (FHWA-536)" (1997).
Mississippi State Tax Commission, "Seawall Tax Collections, Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1998" (1999) [http://www.mstc.state.ms.us/info/annualreport/FY98/pseawall.pdf]
Mississippi State Tax Commission, "Summary of Special City and County Taxes," [http://www.mstc.state.ms.us/taxareas/sales/rates.htm].
Missouri
Bi-State Development Agency, "Metrolink: The Next Step/St. Clair County Extension," (2000). [http://www.bi-state.org/STCLFS.html]
Burnes, Brian, "Excise tax goes to Independence voters," The Kansas City Star (November 1, 2000).
Ciruli, Floyd, "Never a Smooth Ride With Voters: St. Louis Loses Expansion," Ciruli Associates (1997). [http://www.ciruli.com/archives/rtd-smooth.htm]
Dummit, Ralph, "Transit Tax Fails Again in County," St. Louis Post Dispatch (November 6, 1996).
Gauen, Patrick E. and Mei-Ling Hopgood, "Voters Reject MetroLink Tax; Opponents Said Plans For Tax Weren’t Specific; Proponents Re-Group," St. Louis Post Dispatch (November 5, 1997).
Hancock, Lewis F. "Transportation financing, new approaches in Missouri." 44th Annual Meeting, District 6, Compendium of Technical Papers. Anaheim, California: Institute of Transportation Engineers (1991).
Horsley, Lynn, "Chastain tries again on proposal," The Kansas City Star (October 7, 1999).
Letter from Missouri Department of Transportation (August 2, 2000).
Lyons, William, Enhanced Planning Review of the Transportation Planning Process in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area, Cambridge, Mass.: Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (1995). [http://www.fta.dot.gov/library/planning/plnrpt/Stl-htm.htm]
Missouri Association of Counties, "Local Sales Taxes Available to Counties," (2000). [http://www.mocounties.com/stats6.htm]
Missouri Department of Revenue, "Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1998," (March, 1999). [http://www.dor.state.mo.us/cafr/]
Missouri Office of the State Auditor, "Missouri 3rd Class Counties Audit Report," Report 99-77 (Sept. 16, 1999).
Spivak, Jeffrey, "Signal at Union Station: ‘Go’," The Kansas City Star (November 7, 1996).
Spivak, Jeffrey, and Lynn Horsley, "Voters OK tax for infrastructure, reject funding of light-rail plan," The Kansas City Star (November 3, 1999).
Montana
Montana Department of Justice, "Vehicle Title and Registration," [http://www.doj.state.mt.us/mvd/vehtitrg.htm].
Montana Department of Revenue, "Guide to Taxes Administered by the Montana Department of Revenue," (January 1999) [http://www.state.mt.us/revenue/99Guide.pdf]
Nebraska
Letter from Nebraska Department of Roads (June 30, 2000).
Letter from Nebraska Department of Roads, Division of Planning (November 9, 2000).
Nebraska Department of Revenue, "Local option sales and use tax rates, effective April 1, 2000" [http://www.nol.org/revenue/question/sales.htm].
State of Nebraska, Auditor of Public Accounts, "1999-2000 Budget Information Database" (June 2000) [http://www.nol.org/home/auditor/bud-intro.html]
Tanya Eiserer, "Voters OK Sales-Tax Increase to Fund Development Plan," Omaha World-Herald (May 12, 1999).
Nevada
Letter from Clark County Department of Finance (December 6, 2000).
Letter from the Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County (December 11, 2000).
State of Nevada, Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety, "New Nevada Resident Guide" (2000). [http://www.state.nv.us/dmv_ps/newresident.htm]
State of Nevada, Department of Taxation, "Annual Report, Fiscal Year 1998-99" (January 2000). [http://www.state.nv.us/taxation/images/ar98-99.pdf]
State of Nevada, Department of Taxation, "Fiscal Year 1999-2000 Property Tax Rates for Nevada Local Governments" (1999). [http://www.state.nv.us/taxation/images/redbook9900.pdf]
State of Nevada, Department of Taxation, "Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax Collection and Distribution Statistics" (June 2000).
State of Nevada, Department of Taxation, "Tax Rates by County," (1999). [http://www.state.nv.us/taxation/taxmap.htm]
New Jersey
New Jersey Division of Taxation, "1999 Annual Report" (2000). [http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/taxation/annual/1999/index.html]
New Mexico
Letter from City of Santa Fe (July 13, 2000).
McClannahan, Rory, "Voters OK Sales-Tax Hike," Albuquerque Journal (January 13, 2000).
New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration, Local Government Division, Unpublished data on appropriation of sales tax revenue for streets and roads accounts (1999).
New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration, Local Government Division, "Financial Distribution and Trends: Gross Receipts Tax, County, 1998," (September, 1998). [http://www.lgd-newmarc.net/fmb/pdf/cgrt98.pdf]
Turnbell, Michael and John J. Lumpkin, "Voters Give Road Tax Green Light," Albuquerque Journal (April 1, 1999).
New York
Letter from Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority (June 27, 2000).
Letter from Central New York Regional Transportation Authority (October 16, 2000).
Letter from Metropolitan Transportation Authority (June 22, 2000).
Letter from Capital District Transportation Authority (October 17, 2000).
Letter from Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (June 29, 2000).
Metropolitan Transit Authority, "MTA Dedicated Tax Fund Series 2000A Official Statement," (February 10, 2000).
Metropolitan Transit Authority, "MTA 2000 Combined Amended Continuing Disclosure Filings, Vol. 1," (May 24, 2000).
New York State, Department of Taxation and Finance, "Enactment and Effective Dates of Sales and Use Tax Rates," PUB-178A, (2000). [http://www.tax.state.ny.us/pdf/publications/Sales/pub718a_800.pdf]
New York State, Department of Taxation and Finance, Office of Tax Policy Analysis, "Taxable Sales and Purchases: 3/98 - 8/98" (2000). [http://www.tax.state.ny.us/Statistics/Stat_Sales.htm]
New York State, Office of the State Comptroller, "Local Governments and Their Use of Sales Tax in New York State," (March 1998).
North Carolina
North Carolina Department Of Revenue, Tax Research Division, "Property Tax Rates And Latest Year Of Revaluation For North Carolina Counties And Municipalities, Fiscal Year 1998-1999," (June 1999). [http://www.dor.state.nc.us/downloads/98-99Tax_Rates.pdf]
North Dakota
Letter from North Dakota Association of Counties (August 8, 2000).
State of North Dakota, Office of the State Tax Commissioner, "1998 Property Tax Statistical Report," Bismark ND (1999). [http://www.state.nd.us/taxdpt/pubs/property/stat_rep_98.xls].
State of North Dakota, Office of the State Tax Commissioner, "Local Option Taxes by Location," Bismark ND (2000). [http://www.state.nd.us/taxdpt/pubs/sales/gl_21847a.pdf].
State of North Dakota, Office of the State Tax Commissioner, "State and Local Taxes: An Overview and Comparative Guide," Bismark ND (1998). [http://www.state.nd.us/taxdpt/pubs/commissioners/98redbook.pdf].
State of North Dakota, Office of the State Tax Commissioner, "Summary of Levy Limitations," Bismark ND (July 1999). [http://www.state.nd.us/taxdpt/pubs/property/levy_limitations.pdf].
Ohio
Ohio Legislative Budget Office, "Local Transportation Needs and Funding Report," (September, 2000). [http://www.lbo.state.oh.us/123ga/publications/special/transportationstudylong.pdf]
State of Ohio, Department of Taxation, "1999 Property Tax Rate Abstract by Taxing District," (2000) [http://www.state.oh.us/tax/stats/99ptratd.htm]
State of Ohio, Department of Taxation, "1999 Real Property Abstract by Taxing District," (2000) [http://www.state.oh.us/tax/stats/99rpatd.htm]
State of Ohio, Department of Taxation, "County and Regional Transit Authority Permissive Sales and Use Tax Collections and Tax Rates, Calendar Year 1998 & 1999," (2000). [http://www.state.oh.us/tax/stats/s3cy99.htm]
State of Ohio, Department of Taxation, "Municipal Income Taxes: Tax Rates and Amounts Collected, by Municipality, Calendar Year 1998" (1999) [http://www.state.oh.us/tax/stats/LG11/lg11cy98.htm]
State of Ohio, Department of Taxation, "Ohio’s Taxes 2000: A Brief Summary of Major State and Local Taxes in Ohio," (2000) [http://www.state.oh.us/tax/brief2000/BRIEF2000.HTM].
Oklahoma
Lansford, Notie, Stan Ralstin, and Jack Frye, "Adopting a County Sales Tax," Extension Facts F-763, Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, Oklahoma State University (1996). [http://agweb.okstate.edu/pearl/agecon/tax/f-763.pdf]
Oklahoma Department of Taxation, "City & County Rates & Codes for Sales and Use Tax," (May, 2000). [http://www.oktax.state.ok.us/publicat/cop52000.pdf]
Willett, Dolores A., "Ad Valorem Tax Levies," Extension Facts F-795, Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, Oklahoma State University (1992). [http://agweb.okstate.edu/pearl/agecon/tax/f-795.pdf]
Oregon
Letter from Association of Oregon Counties (December 20, 2000).
Letter from Lane Transit District (June 23, 2000).
Oliver, Gordon, "Five counties reject transportation taxes," The Oregonian (November 5, 1997). [http://www.oregonlive.com/todaysnews/1197/st11053.html].
Oregon Department of Revenue, Oregon Property Tax Statistics, Fiscal Year 1998-99. [http://www.dor.state.or.us/303-405-99/TOC.html].
Oregon Department of Transportation, Data files on transportation revenues of cities and counties, fiscal year 1999.
Oregon Department of Transportation, Fuels Tax Group, "Required Tax Disclosures and Current Tax Rates," (May, 2000). [http://www.odot.state.or.us/fsbpublic/fuelstax_stations.htm].
Tax Supervising and Conservation Commission, "1999-00 Annual Report: Local Government Finance in Multnomah County" Portland, Oregon (1999). [http://www.multnomah.lib.or.us/tscc/graphics/99-00annualreport.pdf]
Rhode Island
Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council, "Property Taxes 2000 — Next Steps," Providence (January 2000). [http://www.ripec.com/2000ptax.htm].
Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council, "1998 Property Tax Rates by Community," Providence (1999). [http://www.ripec.com/TAXRAT1.HTM]
South Carolina
Porter, Arlie, "Sales tax plan too inclusive," Charleston Post and Courier (November 11, 2000).
Segal, Jon, "S.C. 170 tax may end by Dec. 1" The Beaufort Gazette (October 18, 2000).
South Carolina Department of Commerce, "South Carolina Property Tax Rates Report" (2000) [http://www.teamsc.com/pdf/PropertyTax.pdf].
South Carolina Department of Public Safety, "Motor Vehicle Registrations from July 1, 1999 Through June 30, 2000" (June, 2000).
South Carolina Department of Revenue, "Sales and Use Tax in South Carolina" (1999). [http://www.sctax.org/publications/salesguid99.html].
York County, "One-Cent Sales and Use Tax Program," (1999). [http://co.york.sc.us/roadhome.html]
South Dakota
Howard, Richard L., "The Role of Local Governments in Planning and Funding Transportation Improvements in South Dakota," South Dakota Association of County Commissioners, Pierre (April 1999).
South Dakota Department of Revenue, "1999 Annual Report" (1999) [http://www.state.sd.us/revenue/Publications/annrpt/1999annualreport.htm]
South Dakota Department of Revenue, "Municipal Tax Information Bulletin" (July 2000). [http://www.state.sd.us/revenue/Publications/CityBook0700.pdf]
South Dakota Department of Transportation, Division of Fiscal and Public Assistance, "Local Government Disposition of Wheel Tax for Calendar Year 1998."
Tennessee
County Technical Assistance Service, "County Revenue Manual," Institute for Public Service, University of Tennessee, Nashville (2000). [http://ctas-notes.ips.utk.edu/public/revenue.nsf]
County Technical Assistance Service, "Tennessee County Tax Statistics," Institute for Public Service, University of Tennessee, Nashville (2000). [http://ctas-notes.ips.utk.edu/public/TNTax.nsf]
Tennessee County Highway Officials Association, "Certification of Road Revenues, FY 99-00" (2000).
Texas
Dallas Area Rapid Transit, "DART Overview and History" (2000) [http://www.dart.org/chronology.htm]
Doclar, Mary, "Voters OK faster expansion of light rail; Dallas and 12 area cities commit a 1-cent sales tax for 30 years to pay for DART growth," Fort Worth Star-Telegram (August 13, 2000).
Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, "Guide to Using Houston's High Occupancy Vehicle Lanes" (2000) [http://www.hou-metro.harris.tx.us/hov.htm].
Texas Controller of Public Accounts, "1998 County Tax Rates," Unpublished data on road tax rates.
Texas Controller of Public Accounts, "1998 Texas Property Tax Rates by County," (1999) [http://www.cpa.state.tx.us/taxinfo/proptax/98taxrates/index.html]
Texas Controller of Public Accounts, "City Sales and Use Tax Rates," (2000) [http://www.cpa.state.tx.us/taxinfo/local/cityrate.fnm]
Texas Controller of Public Accounts, "County Sales and Use Tax," (2000) [http://www.cpa/state/tx/us/taxinfo/local/county.html]
Texas Controller of Public Accounts, "Monthly Local Sales and Use Tax Allocation Historical Summary by Local Jurisdiction," (2000) [http://www.window.state.tx.us/cgi-bin/allochist]
Texas Controller of Public Accounts, "Transit Sales and Use Tax," (1999) [http://www.cpa.state.tx.us/taxinfo/local/mta.html]
Texas Controller of Public Accounts, Property Tax Division, Unpublished data on road utility districts (2000).
Texas Department of Transportation, "Statewide Statistics" (2000). [http://www.dot.state.tx.us/rtmodes/stwstats/stwstats.htm]
Texas Department of Transportation, Public Transportation Division, "1998 Texas Transit Statistics," (1999) [http://www.dot.state.tx.us/insdtdot/orgchart/ptn/ptninfo/stat2.pdf].
Texas Department of Transportation, Vehicle Titles and Registration Division, "Schedule of Texas Registration Fees," Fee Chart 1C (October 1999).
Utah
Loomis, Brandon, "Voter Support Of Transit Tax Could Mean Clout in D.C." The Salt Lake Tribune (November 9, 2000).
Utah Association of Counties, "Position Statement: Local Government Funding Needs," (2000).
Utah State Tax Commission, "Annual Report, Fiscal Year 1998-99" (1999). [http://www.tax.ex.state.ut.us/annrep/98-99arpt.pdf].
Utah State Tax Commission, "Taxes and Fees Administered by the Utah State Tax Commission" (1999) [http://www.tax.ex.state.ut.us/faqs/Tax&fees.htm].
Utah State Tax Commission, "Utah Sales Tax Rates in Effect as of July 1, 1999" (1999) [http://www.tax.ex.state.ut.us/sales/7-1-99Rates/rates.htm].
Vermont
Vermont Department of Taxes, Division of Property Valuation and Review, "2000 Annual Report: Taxes and Tax Rates," (2000) [http://www.state.vt.us/tax/PV&RMainMenu.htm].
Virginia
Commonwealth of Virginia, Auditor of Public Accounts, "Comparative Report of Local Government Revenues and Expenditures." (2000). [http://www.apa.state.va.us/localgvt/comparative_section/index.htm]
Knapp, John L., "1999 Tax Rates: Virginia’s Cities, Counties, and Selected Towns," Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, University of Virginia, Charlottesville (December 1999). [http://www.virginia.edu/coopercenter/vastat/taxrates1999/taxrates.html]
Melton, R.H., "Gilmore Vetoes Local Taxing Power; Revenue From Insurance Favored for Road Improvements," The Washington Post (April 9, 2000);
Melton, R.H., "Gilmore, N. Va. Still at Odds on Transportation; Governor Opposes Local Tax," The Washington Post (December 12, 2000).
Virginia Department of Taxation, "Rates of County and District Levies for County and District Purposes for Tax Year 1999," [http://www.tax.state.va.us/pdfs/Publications/levy99.pdf].
Virginia Department of Taxation, "Virginia Tax Facts" Richmond, Virginia (January, 2000). [http://www.tax.state.va.us/pdfs/Publications/TaxFacts.pdf]
Washington
Hopkins, Jack and Larry Lange, "Local Taxes, Bonds Await Voters" Seattle Post-Intelligencer, September 14, 2000.
Municipal Research and Services Center of Washington, "A Revenue Guide for Washington Cities and Towns," Seattle (August 1999). [http://www.mrsc.org/revguide.pdf]
Penhale, Ed, "Vote is a Rail Disaster; But Clark County Transit Different, Backers Here Say," Seattle Post-Intelligencer (February 9, 1995).
Sanchez, Roberto and Andrew Garber, "No light rail in sales tax plan" Seattle Times, September 12, 2000
Sound Transit, "Regional Transit History and Chronology" (2000). [http://www.soundtransit.org/faces/history.html]
State of Washington, Office of Financial Management, "April 1 Population of Cities, Towns, and Counties Used for the Allocation of Designated State Revenues," (July 1999) [http://www.ofm.wa.gov/countypop/april.pdf].
Washington Department of Revenue, "Local Sales and Use Tax Distributions," (November-December, 1997) [http://dor.wa.gov/index.asp?/reports/ltd1197-1297/1197-1297.htm].
Washington Department of Revenue, "Property Tax Statistics 1997."
Washington Department of Revenue, Tax Reference Manual, (January, 1999) [http://dor.wa.gov/index.asp?/reports/taxref99/contents.htm].
Washington Department of Transportation, Detailed Local Highway Finance Report (1997).
Washington State Legislature, Legislative Transportation Committee, "Washington State Transportation Resource Manual," Olympia, WA (1999) [http://ltc.leg.wa.gov/Manual99/Default.htm].
West Virginia
Letter from West Virginia Dept. of Transportation, Division of Public Transit (December 21, 2000).
West Virginia Department of Transportation, Division of Transportation Planning, "As A Matter of Fact…" (January, 1998).
West Virginia State Auditor’s Office, Public Utilities Division, "2000 Levy Rates." [http://www.wvauditor.com/pu/rates/detail/allrates.htm]
Wisconsin
"Highway Committee Votes No on Regional Plan," Wisconsin State Journal (December 18, 1992).
Letter from Office of Policy and Budget, Wisconsin Department of Transportation (August 17, 2000).
Letter from Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association (December 14, 2000).
Runde, Al, Local Government Fiscal Options, Informational Paper #15, Madison: Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau (January, 1999). [http://www.legis.state.wi.us/lfb/Informationalpapers/15.pdf]
Sandler, Larry, "Ament Proposes Gas Taxes of $40 Million," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (July 28, 1998).
Sandler, Larry, "Ament Seeks Regional Transportation Authority," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (August 5, 1996).
Wisconsin Department of Revenue, Division of Research and Analysis, "County Sales Tax Distributions 1986-2000" [http://www.dor.state.wi.us/ra/cotax00.html]
Wisconsin Department of Revenue, Division of Research and Analysis, "State and Local Sales and Use Tax Report 1999" [http://www.dor.state.wi.us/ra/co00main.html]
Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, "Revenue Options for Wisconsin Municipalities," (September, 1998). [http://www.lafollette.wisc.edu/reform/Library/Documents/WisconsinMunicipalities.pdf]
Wyoming
Curran, Dennis E. "Cheyenne Voters Reject Proposed 1 Percent Tax," Northern Colorado Business Report (June 1996). [http://www.ncbr.com/jun96/cheyennetax.htm]
Wyoming Department of Revenue, "1999 Annual Report: Ad Valorem Tax Division," (2000). [http://revenue.state.wy.us/HomePage/annlrpt/annrpt99/advalorem99.pdf].
Wyoming Department of Revenue, "1999 Annual Report: Excise Tax Division," (2000). [http://revenue.state.wy.us/HomePage/annlrpt/annrpt99/excise99.pdf].
Wyoming Department of Revenue, "Sales/Use Tax Rate History for Counties With Option Taxes," (2000). [http://159.238.111.110/excise/pdf/history2000_.PDF].
This research was funded with a generous grant from the University of California Transportation Center, and conducted at the Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California at Berkeley.
The authors would like to thank to Marieke Baan, Aimee Chong, Rachel Hiatt, Justine Lam, and David Weinreich for their helpful research assistance. We would also like to express our deep gratitude to the hundreds of transportation and public finance professionals in government and private associations who provided us with data, explanations, and feedback throughout this research project. This research would not have been possible without their generous and insightful assistance.
About the Authors
Todd Goldman and Sam Corbett are graduate students in the Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of California, Berkeley. Martin Wachs is Professor of City and Regional Planning, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Director of the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.
About the Institute of Transportation Studies
ITS Berkeley is a multidisciplinary research institute that has supported transportation research since 1948, when it was established by the University with funding from the California Department of Transportation. Today, about 40 faculty members, 40 staff researchers and 100 graduate students are involved the Institute’s research and technology transfer programs. The Institute is home to one of the world’s largest transportation libraries, and leading research programs on intelligent transportation systems, pavements, and aviation operations. ITS Berkeley has sister institutes on the Davis, Irvine and Los Angeles campuses.
About the University of California Transportation Center
The University of California Transportation Center (UCTC) supports research and education throughout the University of California system. It provides fellowships that support U.C. Berkeley graduate students along with those on the Davis, Irvine and Los Angeles campuses. It also funds major research projects in transportation policy that are directed by UC faculty members. As one of 13 federally-chartered transportation centers established by congressional mandate in 1988, the center is funded equally by the U. S. Department of Transportation and the California Department of Transportation.