This paper exploits an exogenous reform of the local fiscal equalization scheme in the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia to identify tax mimicking by municipalities in the neighboring state of Lower Saxony. The spatial lag regressions provide no evidence for the existence of strategic...

This paper surveys the development and role of the real estate tax in Sweden between 1862 and 2010. The possibility to tax real estate has been used at both the local and state level throughout history. Its importance is difficult to assess directly due to limited data availability and the...