Taxes Matter IX: Smart Growth and Taxes
In an interesting article by Dr. Edward L. Glaeser–Harvard Professor and Director of the Kennedy School of Government’s Taubman Center for State and Local Government–he found that taxes matter to city growth. The article is titled: “Smart Growth: Education, Skilled Workers, and the Future of Cold-Weather Cities” and states that “Cities, however, must be careful about turning to taxes as their seed corn for growth, because high levies can drive away businesses and high-skill residents . . . specifically, cities with a tax rate that was 1 percent higher relative to income grew 6 percent more slowly than otherwise comparable cities.”