Land use has become a critical issue for Minnesota communities, and for many of those on the suburban fringe, the central land-use policy question is whether or not to approve new residential development. New residences may bring increased property tax revenues, but the new residents will demand...

A mild recession took a far harder toll on state budgets than had been expected. States have even cut back, by some measures, on spending for primary and secondary education. The authors think budgetary restrictions are likely to continue as sources of tax revenues become more constrained.

Under U.S. federal and state tax laws, qualifying non–profit organizations receive several kinds of tax benefits. However, the benefits come with compliance costs, as eligible organizations must first apply for them and then file the annual reports necessary to maintain them. We use a national...

The current U.S. income tax system subsidizes contributions to charities by allowing individual taxpayers to itemize and deduct contributions from taxable income. In effect, taxpayers can receive a rebate from the government based on the contributions they make to charitable organizations. Under...

The empirical literature that seeks to measure the effective tax rate on new investment offers a striking paradox. On the one hand, summary measures of the effective tax rate on new investment are normally quite high. On the other hand, the amount of revenue actually collected from taxing...

The U.S. income tax has long been recognized as a hybrid of an income and consumption tax, with elements that do not fit naturally into either pure system. The precise nature of this hybrid has important policy implications for, among other things, understanding the impact of moving closer to a...

Government budget crises have compelled state Extension Services to defend their receipt of state and county funding. A key to that defense is persuading citizens and policymakers of Extension's "public value": the benefit from Extension programs to those who are not directly served. This paper...

Government budget crises have compelled state Extension Services to defend their receipt of state and county funding. A key to that defense is persuading citizens and policymakers of Extension's "public value": the benefit from Extension programs to those who are not directly served. This paper...