Determination of Local Tax mix: Evidence from Spain

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of the local tax mix in Spain. As the main local own revenues, we analyze the five local taxes -with the property tax as the main source- and fees and charges. The study relies on a sample of 130 municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants for the years 2005 and 2009. The results show the relevance of scale variables such as the population or total assets, but per capita income and grants are not significant. In political terms, we observe that ideology is important and fragmentation plays a limited role: the property tax share tends to be lower with left-wing governments, who favor revenues using the benefit principle.