Clinton Mahoney (Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Saskatchewan)
In the intricate and evolving landscape of municipal finance, local governments are expected to handle more demands and challenges today than they did yesterday. Despite this growing demand for enhanced public services, municipal governments find themselves constrained by the increasing costs associated with service provision. Meeting the challenge of maintaining or improving public services necessitates additional sources of public revenues. While municipal governments have at their disposal instruments like raising property taxes or user fees, implementing such measures is perceived by politicians as politically sensitive.
To contribute valuable insights to the understanding of the relationship between voters’ behaviour and opinions regarding municipal public finance, this study will conduct an online survey involving a representative sample of Canadian adults (target sample size = 2,000) that includes a behavioural experiment. The survey seeks to uncover patterns in Canadians’ utilization of public services and their preferences concerning municipal finance options. The behavioural experiment will examine how different communication strategies influence voter behaviour and their willingness to support reforms in property tax policies. Specifically, we will randomly assign respondents to one of experimentally designed information conditions, including the control condition (no information exposure), the gain- and the loss-framed conditions that explain the rationales for proposed property tax changes. We then ask respondents to rate their willingness to support such property tax changes and their voting behaviours.
The findings of this study will inform future development of property tax policies and provide valuable guidance to local politicians in effectively communicating proposed property tax changes.