Chapter 12: Financing State Government Flashcards
political values
a set of beliefs about political processes and the role that government should play in our society
public goods
goods or services characterized by the features of nonexcludability and nonrivalrous consumption; they are often provided by governments
nonexcludability
the inability to practically prevent people from receiving or enjoying a good or service due to nonpayment
nonrivalrous consumption
situation in which the use or enjoyment of a good service by a person or persons does not diminish the availability of that good or service for others to use or enjoy
collective benefit
goods that are provided with no charge because there is a broader public benefit associated with the good
re-distributive goods
those goods where government takes money from one group of citizens and gives it to other citizens; welfare is a good example
regulatory goods
good, activity, or resource that the government regulates to prevent overuse; an example is pumping water from a commonly owned aquifer
tax capacity
a measure of the wealth of a state or its ability to raise revenues relative to all other states
tax effort
a measure of how close a state comes to using its tax capacity
per capita tax
the total taxes raised in a state divided by the number of residents
tax exporting
the shifting of taxes to citizens in other states; a good example is Wyoming coal, which is exported to Texas to generate electricity
consumer taxes
taxes that citizens pay when they buy goods and services; sales taxes
benefit-based taxes
taxes for which there is a relationship between the amount paid in taxes and services received; motor fuel taxes are a good example
ability to pay
taxes that are not based on the benefit received but the wealth, or ability to pay, of an individual
regressive taxes
taxes that take a higher percentage of income from low-income persons
