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Redistributing Municipal Wealth in Israel:

Reducing Inequalities in the Revenues of Local
Authorities

Razin Eran and Hazan Anna
2006
Abstract of publication #1/56

This study analyzes options for redistributing revenues from local taxes and levies on non-residential real estate among local authorities, with the aim of reducing fiscal disparities among local authorities. The experience of revenue sharing in the framework of agreements for developing joint industrial areas by several local authorities indicates that these agreements have become a legitimate mechanism, applied frequently, even though their implementation involves disputes at times. Other alternatives vary in the source of distributed revenues, in the mode of distribution, in the autonomy exercised by central government to enforce revenue distribution and in the geographical scale of distribution. The study recommends considering the implementation of alternatives at the local and regional levels, with clearly defined limits on conditions that permit revenue redistribution without the consent of involved parties. Implications in the direction of strengthening local government or concentration of power in the hands of government ministries depends on the manner of implementation: imposition subject to restraint and clear constraints, in which the central state is considered to be a fair broker, or an arena for bitter conflicts and for controversial decisions that are largely motivated by the need to alleviate short-term fiscal problems of the central state.

Related Links:

2008 Horne Ron Disparities in Local Property Tax: Trends and an International Perspective 1/66 15 NIS
2002 Razin Eran Fiscal Disparities Among Local Authorities in Israel in the Year 2000: Continuity and Change in a Period of Political Instability 1/45 15 NIS
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