Business Corporation Tax in New York City: Its Impact on Employment Growth from 1972 to 1979

摘要

The study seeks to evaluate the economic impact of the inter-industry differential of the New York City corporate income tax (per employee and per unit of asset). The impact of the inter-industry differential of the New York City corporate income tax on industry employment growth is evaluated using a cross section of 55 industries. Multiple regression analysis, performed in a variety of control contexts, shows that high corporate income taxes did not explain differential employment growth among these industries from 1972 to 1979. Factors leading to industry employment growth were (1) national or regional growth, (2) national or regional markets, (3) market (as opposed to resource or labor) orientation, and (4) a non-manufacturing industry sector. The tax variables are constructed from a sample of actual 1978 New York City General Corporation Tax returns. The sample is stratified according to the number of employees and the SIC code. The analytic techniques used are correlation and multiple regression.