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Factors influencing support for local transportation sales tax measures

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  • Robert Hannay
  • Martin Wachs

Abstract

Sales tax measures passed at the local level and dedicated to transportation projects have become increasingly popular in the United States. While revenues from fuel taxes stagnate, growth of local transportation sales taxes (LTSTs), most approved in local elections, has led to a gradual shift of the financial base for transportation projects away from user fees and toward broader-based taxes. In this study, the relationship between voter support and the social, political, and geographic characteristics of the voters is explored. Using precinct-level voting data and census demographic data for three local transportation sales tax elections in Sonoma County, in the San Francisco Metropolitan area of California, regression models were constructed to analyze this relationship. In addition, the relationship between the outcomes of the three measures was explored to better understand which transportation projects might have garnered more support for the successful measure. It was found that the closer voters lived to the transportation projects to be funded, the greater their support. Higher incomes were also positively related to support, controlling for other variables. Political leanings were found to affect support, with the direction of the effect dependent upon the project list in each measure’s expenditure plan. Finally, it appears that the latest measure, which passed successfully, benefited greatly from its multi-modal expenditure plan. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2007

Suggested Citation

  • Robert Hannay & Martin Wachs, 2007. "Factors influencing support for local transportation sales tax measures," Transportation, Springer, vol. 34(1), pages 17-35, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:transp:v:34:y:2007:i:1:p:17-35
    DOI: 10.1007/s11116-006-0006-4
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Adams, Matthew & Hiatt, Rachel & Hill, Mary C. & Russo, Ryan & Wachs, Martin & Weinstein, Asha, 2001. "Financing Transportation in California: Strategies for Change (Final Draft)," Institute of Transportation Studies, Research Reports, Working Papers, Proceedings qt7fh2v7zd, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Berkeley.
    2. Crabbe, Amber & Hiatt, Rachel & Poliwka, Susan D & Wachs, Martin, 2002. "Local Transportation Sales Taxes: California's Experiment in Transportation Finance," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt0hj2r88h, University of California Transportation Center.
    3. Crabbe, Amber & Hiatt, Rachel & Poliwka, Susan & Watts, Michael, 2002. "Local Transportation Sales Taxes: California's Experiment in Transportation Finance (Detailed Research Findings)," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt0h31d7zv, University of California Transportation Center.
    4. Goldman, Todd & Corbett, Sam & Wachs, Martin, 2001. "Local Option Transportation Taxes in the United States," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt2g61665m, University of California Transportation Center.
    5. Goldman, Todd & Corbett, Sam & Wachs, Martin, 2001. "Local Option Transportation Taxes in the United States (Part One:," Institute of Transportation Studies, Research Reports, Working Papers, Proceedings qt7j11q63q, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Berkeley.
    6. Wachs, Martin, 2003. "Local Option Transportation Taxes: Devolution as Revolution," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt2d38m621, University of California Transportation Center.
    7. Goldman, Todd & Wachs, Martin, 2003. "A Quiet Revolution in Transportation Finance: The Rise of Local Option Transportation Taxes," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt2gp4m4xq, University of California Transportation Center.
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    Cited by:

    1. Michael Lowry, 2010. "Online public deliberation for a regional transportation improvement decision," Transportation, Springer, vol. 37(1), pages 39-58, January.
    2. Jongmin Shon, 2022. "Does Competition Tame the Leviathan? A Case of Earmarked Spending for Transportation," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 241(2), pages 59-78, June.
    3. Jerry Zhirong Zhao & Shengnan Lou & Camila Fonseca & Richard Feiock & Ruowen Shen, 2021. "Explaining transit expenses in US urbanised areas: Urban scale, spatial form and fiscal capacity," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(2), pages 280-296, February.
    4. Phuong Nguyen-Hoang, 2015. "Volatile earmarked revenues and state highway expenditures in the United States," Transportation, Springer, vol. 42(2), pages 237-256, March.
    5. Hsu, Shi-Ling & Walters, Joshua & Purgas, Anthony, 2008. "Pollution tax heuristics: An empirical study of willingness to pay higher gasoline taxes," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(9), pages 3612-3619, September.
    6. Lowry, Michael B., 2010. "Using optimization to program projects in the era of communicative rationality," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 94-101, March.
    7. Albrecht, Maxwell & Brown, Anne & Lederman, Jaimee & Taylor, Brian D. & Wachs, Martin, 2017. "The Equity Challenges and Outcomes of California County Transportation Sales Tax," Institute of Transportation Studies, Research Reports, Working Papers, Proceedings qt39q2758w, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Berkeley.
    8. Anne Brown & Jaimee Lederman & Brian D. Taylor & Martin Wachs, 2021. "Analyzing voter support for California’s local option sales taxes for transportation," Transportation, Springer, vol. 48(4), pages 2103-2125, August.
    9. Jinbao Zhao & Wei Deng & Yan Song & Yueran Zhu, 2014. "Analysis of Metro ridership at station level and station-to-station level in Nanjing: an approach based on direct demand models," Transportation, Springer, vol. 41(1), pages 133-155, January.
    10. Michael Manville & Benjamin Cummins, 2015. "Why do voters support public transportation? Public choices and private behavior," Transportation, Springer, vol. 42(2), pages 303-332, March.

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