L'impact des regroupements municipaux sur le fardeau fiscal et la valeur des propriétés résidentielles au Québec, 1992-1999

In this paper, we study the impact of the municipal mergers that occurred in Quebec between 1992 and 1999 on the effective tax rates and on the market value of residential properties. We show that the impact is undetermined a priori. The empirical analysis relies on two econometric methods that are frequently used in evaluating public policies: (1) The difference in differences estimator; (2) The matching estimator. The two methods yield qualitatively similar and robust results. Overall, the mergers that occurred between 1992 and 1999 are found to have reduced the marginal tax rates by approximately 15%. When disaggregated, it is found that only cities and villages have benefited from a reduction in their tax rates. Finally, the market value of residential properties has not been affected by the mergers.
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