TY - JOUR
T1 - CAP AND GAP
T2 - THE FISCAL EFFECTS OF PROPERTY TAX LEVY LIMITS IN NEW YORK
AU - Nguyen-Hoang, Phuong
AU - Zhang, Pengju
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Association for Education Finance and Policy.
PY - 2022/1/1
Y1 - 2022/1/1
N2 - This is the first study to examine the fiscal effects of the New York property tax levy limit, using variation from the degree of fiscal stringency across school districts and over time in its first five years of implementation. Based on a difference-in-differences estimator, coupled with an event study specification, we find that the tax limit has imposed a real cap on many school districts; that is, at-limit districts’ total current expenditures per pupil are significantly lower than what they would have spent absent the limit. For those affected school districts, this expenditure gap does not come from spending on teacher salaries or fringe benefits but rather from other instructional salaries/expenses, central administration, transportation, interfund transfers, and undistributed spending. We also find heterogeneity in the constraining effects of the tax limit across different need-based groups of school districts.
AB - This is the first study to examine the fiscal effects of the New York property tax levy limit, using variation from the degree of fiscal stringency across school districts and over time in its first five years of implementation. Based on a difference-in-differences estimator, coupled with an event study specification, we find that the tax limit has imposed a real cap on many school districts; that is, at-limit districts’ total current expenditures per pupil are significantly lower than what they would have spent absent the limit. For those affected school districts, this expenditure gap does not come from spending on teacher salaries or fringe benefits but rather from other instructional salaries/expenses, central administration, transportation, interfund transfers, and undistributed spending. We also find heterogeneity in the constraining effects of the tax limit across different need-based groups of school districts.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85119032924&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85119032924&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1162/edfp_a_00327
DO - 10.1162/edfp_a_00327
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85119032924
SN - 1557-3060
VL - 17
SP - 1
EP - 26
JO - Education Finance and Policy
JF - Education Finance and Policy
IS - 1
ER -