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Fiscal Research Center

The Fiscal Research Center (FRC) provides nonpartisan research, technical assistance and education in the evaluation and design of state and local fiscal and economic policy, including both tax and expenditure issues. The FRC mission is to promote the development of sound public policy and public understanding of issues concerning state and local governments. Established in 1995, the program helps provide information to state and local governments so they can make informed decisions about complex fiscal issues. The program has a full-time staff and affiliated faculty from throughout Georgia State University and elsewhere who lead its research projects.

One of the objectives of the FRC is to help inform and stimulate debate on fiscal policy. The Center publishes Policy Briefs, which are widely distributed summaries of longer reports, as well as essays on issues confronting the state. The program also organizes periodic Seminars, Workshops, Luncheons and Conferences during which fiscal policy makers, administrators, and faculty discuss fiscal policy issues. David L. Sjoquist is Director of the Fiscal Research Center, and Sally Wallace is Associate Director.

In This Page:

• Research Agenda
• Reports
• Visitors and Other Activities
• Projects
• Technical Assistance

The research agenda of the Fiscal Research Program is composed of three broad categories: Intergovernmental Issues, Tax Policy, and the Georgia Economy. Each category is comprised of a set of projects that are FRC focus areas for state policy.

Intergovernmental Issues:

Education Finance Project. Explores issues associated with education financing and delivery of education in Georgia.

Georgia Intergovernmental Project. Explores issues inherent in relationships between state and local governments.

Local Government Project.  Focuses on fiscal and financial issues of local governments.

Tax and Expenditure Policy:

Business Tax Project. Addresses the taxation of banking, insurance, and corporations.

Income Tax Project. Analyzes the structure and impact of income taxation.

Property Tax Project. Focuses on the structure, administration, and effects of property taxation.

Sales and Excise Tax Project.Studies of the structure, administration, and effects of sales and excise taxation.

Tax Modeling Project.Involves the development of a sophisticated computer-based model for use in the analysis of tax policy proposals.

Telecommunication/Public Utilities Project. Focuses on alternatives in the taxation of public utilities.

State Budget Project. Concerns policy issues associated with government budgeting.

The Georgia Economy:

Economic Development Project.Addresses the many issues relevant to the state's economic development efforts.

Georgia Data Project. Involves development of a database built on the Unemployment Insurance records from the Department of Labor, welfare records for the Department of Human Resources, and other agency databases.

Georgia Economy Project.Studies various sectors and aspects of the Georgia economy such as banking, changes in the distribution of income, and changes in the location of retail sales.

Reports

Growth in Expenditures and Property Taxes by Level or Type of, (FRC, Georgia Budget and Policy Institute and Georgia Public Policy Foundation). This brief is a joint publication and provides a consistent set of numbers from which the growth in Georgia local revenues and expenditures can be estimated.  FRC Special Publication (November 2007)

Replacing All Property Taxes: An Analysis of Revenue Issues, John Matthews and David Sjoquist. This brief discusses the amount of revenue needed to replace all the property taxes in Georgia.  FRC Brief 171 (October 2007)

Revenue Estimates for Eliminating Sales Tax Exemptions and Adding Services to the Sales Tax Base, John Matthews, David Sjoquist, and John Winters.This report provides revenue estimates for alternative combinations of eliminating sales tax exemptions and adding services to the sales tax base.  FRC Report 170 (October 2007)

Report on the City of South Fulton: Potential Revenue and Expenditures (Revised), Robert Eger and John Matthews. This report evaluates the fiscal consequences of incorporating a new city of South Fulton, using Fulton County revenue and expenditure data and benchmarks from other Georgia cities.  FRC Report/Brief 169 (October 2007)

Report on the City of Chattahoochee Hill Country. Potential Revenues and Expenditures, Robert Eger and John Matthews. Using Fulton County revenue and expenditure data and benchmarks developed from other Georgia city data, this report evaluates the fiscal consequences of incorporating a new city of Chattahoochee Hill Country. FRC Report/Brief 168 (October 2007)

Selected Fiscal and Economic Implications of Aging, David Sjoquist, Sally Wallace, and John Winters. This report considers pressures and potential benefits of an increased elderly population in Georgia.  FRC Report 167 (October 2007)

Subnational Value-Added Taxes: Options for Georgia, Laura Wheeler and Nara Monkam. This report considers the implications of levying a "subnational value-added tax in Georgia as a replacement for the state corporate income and sales tax."  FRC Report/Brief 166 (September 2007)

Revenue Sources of State and Local Governments, Nikola Tasic. This report compares the reliance on various revenue sources across Georgia compared with eight other states. FRC Report/Brief 165 (September 2007)

Tax Revenue Stability of Replacing the Property Tax with a Sales Tax, John Winters. This policy brief discusses the implications for tax revenue stability of proposals that would replace the property tax with an increased sales tax.  FRC Brief 164 (September 2007)

Potential Impact of the Great Plan on Georgia’s Tax Administration, John Matthews. This brief examines local property tax and sales tax implications for tax administrators. FRC Brief 163 (August 2007)

Is a State VAT the Answer? What's the Question? Richard M. Bird. This report provides an overview of the differences between the retail sales tax and a value added tax and the potential use of a VAT in U.S. states.  FRC Report 162 (August 2007)

Budget Stabilization Funds: A Cross-State Comparison, Carolyn Bourdeaux. This brief provides a discussion of the trends of budget reserves in Georgia and other states and state policy dicating the size of the reserves.  FRC Brief 161 (August 2007)

Four Options For Eliminating Property Taxes and Funding Local Governments, David Sjoquist. This brief outlines four alternative approaches to eliminating or reducing property tax while replacing the lost local revenue and retaining local fiscal discretion.  FRC Brief 160 (August 2007)

Economic Impact of the Commercial Music Industry in Atlanta and the State of Georgia: New Estimates, Nikola Tasic and Sally Wallace. This report documents the economic and fiscal impact of the industry, and changes in the impact from 2003 to 2007.  FRC Report/Brief 159 (August 2007)

A Flat Rate Income Tax in Georgia, Sally Wallace and Shiyuan Chen.  This brief provides a distributional analysis for Georgia's current individual income tax and a 4 percent and 5.75 percent flat income tax rate structure.  FRC Brief 158 (July 2007)

Issues Associated with Replacing the Property Tax with State Grants, David Sjoquist. This brief presents a list of issues and questions that should be considered in any proposal to replace the local property tax with state grants.  FRC Brief 157 (July 2007)

Overview and Comparison of the Value Added Tax and the Retail Sales Tax, Jorge Martinez-Vazquez, Sally Wallace and Laura Wheeler.  This brief summarizes the similarities and differences between a value added tax and the much recognized general sales tax, or retail sales tax.  This brief is one in a series of briefs and reports that relate to tax policy options for Georgia.  FRC Brief 156 (June 2007)

The Financial Position of Pennsylvania’s Public Sector: Past, Present, and Future, (Robert P. Strauss and Joshua L. Hart).  This report is the third of three reports that address the fiscal conditions of other states, explores the factors that explain the conditions, and the likely future trends.  FRC Report 155 (June 2007)

Alternative State Business Tax Systems: A Comparison of State Income and Gross Receipts Taxes, Laura Wheeler and Edward Sennoga. This report provides a five-point comparison between a state corporate income tax and a state gross receipts tax.  FRC Report/Brief 154 (May 2007)

Status of Women in Atlanta: A Survey of Economic Demographic, and Social Indicators for the 15-County Area, Rachel Ferencik, John Matthews, Christine Moloi, Lakshmi Pandey, Dawud Ujamaa, Sally Wallace. This report provides a detailed overview of economic, demographic and social aspects of women and girls in the metro Atlanta region.  The report is currently only available from the Atlanta Women's Foundation by calling 404.577.5000.  FRC Report 153 (May 2007)

Forecasting Pre-K Enrollment in Georgia Counties, Nikola Tasic and Sally Wallace. This report provides a manual that documents the forecasting methodology and provides the actual forecast of Pre-K enrollment by county for 2007-2011.  FRC Report 152 (April 2007)

A Description of the Proposed Comprehensive Revision of Georgia's Tax Structure: HR 900, David L. Sjoquist. This brief is a summary of the provisions of the comprehensive revision of Georgia's tax structure contained in HR 900.  FRC Brief 151 (April 2007)

Revenue Structures of States Without An Income Tax, David L. Sjoquist.  This report compares Georgia’s revenue structure to states without an income tax in order to explore how Georgia’s revenue structure would have to change if it were to eliminate its income tax.  FRC Report/Brief 150 (April 2007)

Property Rights Reform: A Fiscal Analysis, Peter Bluestone.  This report analyzes the fiscal effects of a proposed statute revising the legal standard for regulatory takings in Georgia, as well as recent changes in Georgia’s eminent domain law.  FRC Report 149 (April 2007)

Self Sufficiency in Women in Georgia, Sally Wallace.  In this brief, we use one measure of self sufficiency to estimate the number of female headed households in metro Atlanta that fall below the self sufficiency standard.  FRC Brief 148 (March 2007)

An Analysis of the Implementation of Program Budgeting in Georgia, Carolyn Bourdeaux. This report discusses the challenges faced by the State of Georgia in the transition to program budgeting.  FRC Report/Brief 147 (March 2007)

Analysis and Recommendations for the Property Tax on Motor Vehicles in Georgia, Laura Wheeler. This report discusses the economic effects, including revenue effects, of eliminating or reducing the state property tax in motor vehicles.  FRC Report/Brief 146 (March 2007)

Georgia’s Economy: Trends and Outlook, Ken Heaghney. This report tracks some of the key trends that have shaped and will continue to shape Georgia’s economy.  These include the decline in manufacturing employment, the aging of Georgia’s population, the importance of high tech and tourism industries and globalization.  FRC Report 145 (March 2007)

Financing Georgia’s Future II, Sally Wallace, David L. Sjoquist, Laura Wheeler, Peter Bluestone, William J. Smith. This second release of a biennial report focuses on Georgia’s taxes, making cross-state comparisons of their structure and exploring revenue performance over time.  FRC Report 144 (March 2007)

The Price Effect of Georgia’s Temporary Suspension of State Fuel Taxes, James Alm and David L. Sjoquist.  This report explores the effect of the fuel tax suspension on the price of gasoline in Georgia.  FRC Report/Brief 143 (February 2007)

An Analysis of the Financing of Higher Education in Georgia, Nara Monkam. This report addresses the issue of the financing of higher education in Georgia by comparing financing in Georgia with other states and examining how financing affects the student population in terms of performance, and retention rates.  FRC Report 142 (February 2007)

Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations in Georgia, David L. Sjoquist, John Stavick and Sally Wallace. This report documents the intergovernmental fiscal system in Georgia, with a focus on the expenditure, revenue, and intergovernmental grant system in the state.  FRC Report 141 (February 2007)

Comparing State Income Tax Preferences for the Elderly in the Southeast, Jonathan C. Rork. This brief looks at the current state of these tax preferences in the Southeast for those states that impose a major income tax and estimates the dollar value of these preferences.  FRC Brief 140 (February 2007)

State Tax Incentives for Research and Development Activities: A Review of State Practices, Laura Wheeler. This report documents state tax incentives offered around the country designed to encourage state level R&D activity.  This report also simulates the effect of various credit components in the value of the credit.  FRC Report/Brief 139 (January 2007)

Transportation Funding Alternatives: A Preliminary Analysis, David L. Sjoquist, William J. Smith, Laura Wheeler and Justin Purkey. This report explores issues associated with proposed alternative revenue sources for increasing transportation for funding.  FRC Report/Brief 138 (January 2007)

Georgia’s Taxes: A Summary of Major State and Local Government Taxes, 13th Edition (Jack Morton and Richard Hawkins). A handbook on taxation that provides a quick overview of all state and local taxes in Georgia. FRC Annual Publication A(13) (January 2007)

The Fiscal Impact is distributed to the State of Georgia General Assembly and staff. During 2007, The Fiscal Impact covered “Unemployment Insurance: Georgia versus the Southeast and the Nation.”

Fiscal Notes are revenue estimates of proposed legislation distributed to the General Assembly and staff. During 2007, the Fiscal Research Center published over 100 Fiscal Notes.

FRC staff and associated faculty prepared the following Policy Memoranda:

• Observations on the Dunwoody Study - Robert Eger
• Estimated Property Tax Revenue Loss Under Current Tax Reform Proposals - John  Matthews
• Annexation in Georgia - David L. Sjoquist
• Effects of Population Growth on Atlanta Public School's Revenue and Expenditures - David L. Sjoquist and Robert Eger

The Fiscal Research Center was happy to host visiting scholars who traveled to Georgia State University to conduct research.

The Fiscal Research Center participated in several presentations to international visitors to the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies. Visitors learned about various economic development research conducted in the FRC and the Young School.

The FRC hosted seminars and visiting lecturers on the following subjects:

February 2007
The City of Atlanta: Recent Trends and Future Prospects Conference was held on Friday, February 23, 2007, and was sponsored by the Dan E. Sweat Chair in Education and Community Policy and the Fiscal Research Center at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.

Speakers included:

• Fred Brooks (Georgia State University) on “Recent Trends and Future Prospects for the Working Poor in Atlanta”
• Obie Clayton Jr. (Morehouse College) on “Race, Class and Status in Atlanta: How Racial and Ethnic Migration is Changing the City”
• Glenn Eskew (Georgia State University) on “Exploring Civil Rights Heritage Tourism and Historic Preservation as Revitalization Tools”
• Charles Gallagher (Georgia State University) on “Black, White and Brown: How Latino Migration is Transforming Metro Atlanta”
• Katherine Hankins (Georgia State University) on “Understanding Atlanta’s Changing Retail Landscape”
• Truman Hartshorn (Georgia State University) on “Transportation Issues and Opportunities Facing Atlanta”
• Charles Jaret (Georgia State University) with Robert Adelman (SUNY Buffalo) and Melissa Hayes (Georgia State University) on “Atlanta’s Future: Convergence or Divergence with its Suburbs and Other Cities?”
• Larry Keating (Georgia Institute of Technology) on “Resurgent Gentrification and Development Policy in Atlanta”
• Douglas Krupka (Georgia State University) on “From “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow” to “Here Today, Here to Stay”? Exploring Mixed Income Neighborhoods in Atlanta, 1970-2010”
• Douglas Noonan and Jennifer Chirico (Georgia Institute of Technology) on “Air Today, Gone Tomorrow: Atlanta’s Air Quality Past and Future”
• Glenwood Ross (Morehouse College) with David Sjoquist (Georgia State University) and Matthew Wooten (University of Georgia) on “Tracking the Economy of the City of Atlanta: Past Trends and Future Prospects”
• Michael Rushton (Indiana University) on “The Creative Class and Economic Growth in Atlanta”
• Bruce Seaman (Georgia State University) on “The Atlanta Beltline Redevelopment Project: Urban Salvation or Expensive Hype”

March 2007
Judy Temple (University of Minnesota) presented "Long-Term Effects of Enriched Preschool: Findings from the Chicago Child-Parent Centers."

April 2007
Rosanne Altshuler (Rutgers) presented "Corporate Taxes in the World Economy: Reforming the Taxation of Cross-Border Income."

April 2007
Charles Knapp (CF Foundation, East Lake Community Foundation and former University of Georgia President) presented "Tough Choices or Tough Times," a report from the Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce.

July 2007
Richard Bird (University of Toronto) presented "Experiences with VAT," focusing on the VAT at the state level.

September 2007
Wolfram Schlenker (Department of Economics and School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University) presented "Estimating the Impact of Climate Control on Crop Yields: The Importance of Non-Linear Temperature Effects."

November 2007
William Hoyt (University of Kentucky) presented "Is the Grass Greener on the Other Side of the River: The Choice of Where to Work and Where to Live for Movers."

November 2007
Monica Singhal (John F. Kennedy School of Government) presented, "Tax Preferences." 

April 2007
The Fourth Annual Dan Sweat Lecture featured Richard J. Murnane (Harvard Graduate School of Education) who presented, "Preparing Students to Thrive in the 21st Century."

Achieving Open Government.  John Thomas.  Funded by the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners, Department of Human Resources, this project conducts research and provides an analysis on achieving open government in Gwinnett County, Ga. ($24,818)

Alternative Budgeting and Financial Analysis.  Robert Eger. Funded by Parsons Brinckerhoff Consultants, this project will assess the choices of alternative funding within Gwinnett County, GA. ($36,641)

Analysis of Strategic Management. Theodore Poister. Funded by the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), this project analyzes performance monitoring, reporting systems, and management practices of the GDOT and comparative case studies of three other state DOTs. ($410,379)

Analysis of Consent Decree. David Sjoquist. Funded by the Georgia Department of Human Resources, this project serves as the fiscal agent to assist the accountability agents and provide analytical analysis. ($796,757)

Childcare Industry Economic Impact Study. Sally Wallace. Funded by the University of Georgia, this project analyzes the current childcare workforce and outlines opportunities for future analysis of childcare usage and quality in Georgia. ($147,938)

Competition Among Public and Private Preschools: Evidence from Georgia.  Mary Beth Walker.  Funded by the Georgia Research Alliance, this project provides evidence regarding the impact of a more flexible marketplace on educational outcomes. ($14,530)

Economic Impact Study. Bruce Seaman. Funded by the Georgia Department of Economic Development, this project generates an economic impact model to assess economic benefits of local sporting and cultural events. ($23,714)

Fiscal Economist, State of Georgia. Kenneth Heaghney. Funded by the Georgia Governor’s office, this project provides the Governor’s office of planning and budget services including annual forecast of revenue and analysis of the Georgia economy. ($695,134)

Fuel Price Adjustment Study. Robert Eger. This project, funded by the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), conducts research and provides a study of fuel price adjustments and the basis for the adjustments. ($70,662)

Future Transportation Revenue. David Sjoquist. Funded by the Georgia Institute of Technology, this project investigates how state transportation agencies forecast future revenues and recommends a methodology for use in forecasting future transportation revenue. ($75,000)

How “Smart” is the Split-Rate Property Tax? Evidence from Growth Patterns in Pennsylvania. Spencer Banzhaf. Funded by The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, this project explores the relationship between the split-rate tax and changes in population density. ($40,000)

Impact of State Research and Development Tax Credits in Stimulating State Research and Development Industrial Activity. Laura Wheeler. Funded by the Kauffman Foundation, this project explores the effect of the presence of a state r&d tax credit in stimulating industrial r&d at the state level. ($16,000)

Legislative Policy Briefing. David Sjoquist. Funded by The University of Georgia Foundation, this project provides analysis on replacing property tax for education with a state sales tax. ($22,942)

Piloting Stakeholder Surveys for the Georgia Department of Transportation. Theodore Poister. Funded by the Georgia Department of Transportation, this project conducts surveys on the process and performance of external shareholders to improve efficiency and develop a more productive working relationship. ($1,117,503)

Projected Population Study. David Sjoquist. Funded by the Atlanta Metro Chamber of Commerce, this project examines the effect of the projected population growth in the City of Atlanta on property tax revenue and expenditures of the Atlanta school system.

Status of Women in Atlanta. Sally Wallace. Funded by the Atlanta Women’s Foundation, this project documents the condition of women in the greater Atlanta community along a number of dimensions including: health, education, economics, and justice. ($19,815)

Public Survey on Managing Lanes and Major Highways.  Theodore Poister. Funded by the Georgia Department of Transportation, this project will review background documents, conduct surveys, and analyze results of public perceptions of managed lanes on major state highways. ($370,303)

Welfare to Work Dynamics. Julie L. Hotchkiss. Funded by the University of Baltimore, Maryland, this grant supports research on evaluation of the transition from welfare to work. ($115,000)

The FRC staff and associated faculty provided technical assistance to numerous government officials and agencies. These included:

• Armstrong State University
• Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG)
• Board of Regents
• City of Atlanta
• Commission for a New Georgia, Rural Development Council
• Georgia Department of Human Resources
• Georgia Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism
• Georgia Department of Labor
• Georgia Department of Revenue
• Georgia Department of Transportation
• Georgia Economic Developers Association
• Georgia Governor's Education Review Commission
• Georgia Governor's Office
• Georgia Municipal Association
• Georgia Occupational Review Council
• Georgia Quality Growth Partnership (and its Legislative Committee)
• House Insurance Committee
• House Insurance Premium Study Committee
• Joint Study Committee on Franchise Fees and Conditions, Rights of Way, and Tax Implications of Competitive Markets
• Office of Planning and Budget
• Senate Research Office
• Senate Insurance Committee
• State of Georgia Budgetary Responsibility Oversight Committee
• Technical Advisory Council (TAC) to the Georgia Rural Development Council
• University of Georgia
• Senate Appropriations Committee
• Senate Finance Committee
• House Ways and Means Committee

In addition, associated staff provided direct assistance to the State of Georgia Senate, House of Representative, and the State of Georgia Governor’s Office.