RESEARCH>>LOCAL OPTION TAXES

Local Option Transportation Taxes in the United States

By Todd Goldman, Sam Corbett and Martin Wachs

March 2001

Funded by the University of California Transportation Center

This study examines the extent to which states have given local Governments one of the most fundamental powers in transportation policy: the ability to decide whether or not to raise taxes to fund transportation improvements. The purpose of the study is to generate a baseline of knowledge on “local option transportation taxes” in all 50 states. We have examined the laws that states have used to authorize these taxes, the extent to which local areas have adopted them, and how the revenues are used and governed.