General Revenue Sharing Data Study: Executive Summary. Volume I

The results of the General Revenue Sharing Data Study carried out by Stanford Research Institute for the Office of Revenue Sharing are reported in four volumes. This volume, Executive Summary, presents highlights excerpted from Volumes II, III, and IV. Emphasis is placed on those findings, conclusions, and recommendations that deserve special consideration by the Secretary of the Treasury, the Office of Revenue Sharing, the U.S. Congress, and other individuals and organizations having responsibilities for or interests in the general revenue sharing (GRS) program. Major findings of the GRS study indicate that although the GRS program appears to be satisfying many of the goals envisioned by Congress, a higher level of equity of allocations can be achieved through the use of more accurate and more current data in the computation of allocation amounts for the over 39,000 units of State and local government involved. Lack of currency in population and per capita income data is the major potential source of inequity. The year-to-year fluctuations in GRS allocations that recipient governments have so far experienced can be attributed mainly to the annual updating of adjusted taxes in the allocation formula. (Author/DN)