Citation
Afonso, Whitney B. & Moulton, Jeremy G. (Online ahead of print). Local Sales Tax Exportation: The Impact of Commuters, Tourists, and College Students on the Tax Base. Public Budgeting & Finance.Abstract
Local sales tax bases are determined by factors including businesses, residential populations, and nonresidential visitors. This paper capitalizes on the COVID-19 pandemic, using the sudden absence of in-commuters, tourists, and college students to estimate the contributions these populations have on the sales tax base in North Carolina's 100 counties. The findings suggest that losing one in-commuter results in a loss of roughly $1000 a month in taxable sales. Similarly, the loss of one hotel night booking results in a loss in taxable sales of approximately $525. This translates, for the median county, to exporting 17% to in-commuters and 12% to tourists. The impact on the loss of a residential college student is less clear.URL
https://doi.org/10.1111/pbaf.12353Reference Type
Journal ArticleYear Published
Online ahead of printJournal Title
Public Budgeting & FinanceAuthor(s)
Afonso, Whitney B.Moulton, Jeremy G.