Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/64159
Authors: 
Year of Publication: 
2006
Series/Report no.: 
Working Paper No. 2006-01
Publisher: 
University of Massachusetts, Department of Economics, Amherst, MA
Abstract: 
Phoenix and neighboring municipalities, like many in the South and West, pursued a growth strategy based on annexation in the decades after World War II. This paper explores the link between annexation and competition for tax revenues. After discussing arguments for annexation, it traces the history of annexation in the Phoenix metropolitan area. A long-running series of border wars entailed litigation, pre-emptive annexations, and considerable intergovernmental conflict. The paper argues that tax revenues have been a key motivation for annexation, particularly since the 1970s. It then considers several related policy issues and argues that while opportunities for annexation are becoming more limited, competition for tax revenues (particularly sales tax revenues) continues to be fierce and to create dilemmas for municipalities in the region.
Subjects: 
annexation
municipal revenues
sales tax
Phoenix
urban growth
intergovernmental relations
JEL: 
H71
H77
N92
R51
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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