Tax Mimicking Among Belgian Municipalities

Recent empirical studies show that U.S. states' and local governments' tax policy is copied among neighboring jurisdictions. We present empirical evidence on such tax mimicking among Belgian municipalities. Belgian data offer important advantages. The (589) municipalities operate within an institutionally homogeneous setting. Moreover, the data allow us to concentrate on tax rates (instead of tax burdens). Our results support the previous findings, suggesting that mimicking behavior is not an artifact of the U.S. system. We also find that mimicking effects extend beyond municipalities' immediate neighbors.