Historic Trends in the Levels of Georgia's State and Local Taxes

This is a report on general trends in Georgia's state and local taxation over the period 1985 to 2007. FRC Report 20

Potential Impact of the Great Plan on Georgia's Tax Administration - Brief

This brief examines local property tax and sales tax implications for tax administrators. FRC Brief 16

Retail Proximity and Residential Values or Do Nearby Stores Really Run Down Property Values?

Common knowledge tells us that locating retail sites near houses will run down the house's value. This common knowledge has lead to highly segregated land use patterns and automobile dependency. But, does locating near a store really adversely affect residential values. In this study we find that it is true for only very short distances - about 200 to 300 feet. After that, for about a quarter of a mile, proximity to stores - contrary to popular wisdom - actually increases residential value. Working Paper 07-2

Tax Revenue Volatility and a State-Wide Education Sales Tax - Brief

This brief examines issues of revenue source stability raised by proposals to shift K-12 education costs from local property taxes to a state-wide sales tax. FRC Brief 10

Georgia's Redevelopment Powers Law: A Policy Guide to the Evaluation and Use of Tax Allocation Districts

Within the past five years, eleven separate tax allocation districts (TADs) have been created in the metropolitan Atlanta region. Currently, policy-makers in the City of Atlanta are considering the use of TADs to finance the proposed "Beltline" project. While TADs are a powerful tool in a localities' economic development arsenal, these policies are not without cost and not without risk. The sudden surge in popularity of this economic development tool generally has not been accompanied by any systematic assessment or set of policies to guide their evaluation or their use. Thus, this report sets out to familiarize local policy makers with:* How TADs work;* The potential benefits of TADs;* The potential risks and costs associated with TADs and how these might be distributed across different stakeholder groups; and* Policies to help minimize costs and risks

Revenue Estimates for Eliminating Sales Tax Exemptions and Adding Services to the Sales Tax Base

This report provides revenue estimates for alternative combinations of eliminating sales tax exemptions and adding services to the sales tax base. FRC Report 17

Replacing All Property Taxes: An Analysis of Revenue Issues - Brief

This brief discusses the amount of revenue needed to replace all the property taxes in Georgia. FRC Brief 17

Housing the Aging Baby Boomers: Implications for Local Policy

Most elderly want to age in place. Yet, most elderly live in suburban and rural communities ill-suited to meet the changing aging-related demands. This paper discusses various issues communities need to address when balancing the demands of aging baby boomers against those of younger households. Accommodating changes in life stage needs requires revising building and zoning codes to permit mixed use and mixed density development incorporating greater varieties of housing units and easier accessibility. Developing support arrangements for naturally occurring retirement communities will become important for state and local governments. A significant number of aging adults will move to locales with natural and augmented civic amenities. Such migration is double-edged; features that attract "gray gold" also attract needy elderly. Finally, affordable housing will be an issue for a growing number of elderly, calling for targeted tax and financial assistance policies for lower income elderly homeowners. Working Paper 08-0

The Effect of Speaking Rate on Audio and Visual Speech

The speed that an utterance is spoken affects both the duration of the speech and the position of the articulators. Consequently, the sounds that are produced are modified, as are the position and appearance of the lips, teeth, tongue and other visible articulators. We describe an experiment designed to measure the effect of variable speaking rate on audio and visual speech by comparing sequences of phonemes and dynamic visemes appearing in the same sentences spoken at different speeds. We find that both audio and visual speech production are affected by varying the rate of speech, however, the effect is significantly more prominent in visual speech