The determinants of municipal tax rates in British Columbia

In this paper we study the regional pattern of municipal business property tax rates in the province of British Columbia. Reduced-form tax-setting equ ations produce some evidence that municipal governments respond to tax chan ges in neighbouring jurisdictions. A joint investigation of the determinant s of tax base and municipal taxation decisions, however, reveals that it is difficult to interpret this response as arising primarily out of competiti on over tax base. There is also some evidence that municipal tax rates are sensitive to taxes set on the same base by super-municipal bodies. JEL Clas sification: C33, H71.