Political Science

Political contribution tax credits and citizen participation

Document Type

Article

Abstract

This article discusses political contribution tax credits, a campaign finance reform that seeks to encourage participation. Several states provide citizens with tax credits for part or all of their contributions to state or local candidates. Although a few studies have tried to estimate the budgetary impact of such programs, none has analyzed the effects of these tax credits on the propensity of citizens to contribute. We discuss the results of two surveys in one state with tax credits, Ohio - one survey each of the general public and of campaign contributors. Our results indicate that if citizens are made aware of the tax credits, they have the potential to attract donors who are more similar to the general public than the current pool of campaign contributors. Tax credits have the greatest effect on small contributors, on younger adults, and on less partisan individuals. © 2005 Sage Publications.

Publication Title

American Politics Research

Publication Date

11-2005

Volume

33

Issue

6

First Page

787

Last Page

817

ISSN

1532-673X

DOI

10.1177/1532673X04273418

Keywords

campaign contributions, campaign finance, candidates, Political contribution tax credits, political contributions, political donors, political participation

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