Motivations, Obstacles, and Resources: The Adoption Of The General-Purpose Local Option Sales Tax in Georgia Counties

Abstract

Local governments in Georgia have been authorized since the 1970s to levy a 1 percent general-purpose Local Option Sales Tax (LOST), which is earmarked for property tax relief. Using data during 1975 to 2002, this study examines the adoption of the LOST through a discrete-time event history analysis. The dependent variable is the probability that an eligible county will adopt it in a particular year. This probability is negatively related to the obstacles prohibiting the innovation and positively related to (1) the motivations to innovate and (2) the resources for overcoming the obstacles. The findings suggest that the motivations are higher in counties with higher property tax millage rates and the potential of sales tax exportation; the obstacles include high existing sales tax rates and severe tax competition; and the major resource for overcoming these obstacles is the adoption of the LOST in other Georgia counties.