City Councils Can Block State‑Authorized Taxes

Even when a state legislature grants a city the legal authority to raise personal or corporate income taxes, the local legislative body — typically the city council and its speaker — can refuse to adopt those hikes, stalling or reshaping mayoral fiscal plans. That means state authorization is necessary but not sufficient; local politics and budget bargaining remain the decisive gatekeeper for municipal tax policy. — This reframes who holds effective taxing power in large cities and shows fiscal politics depend as much on local coalition-building as on state-level permission, affecting debates over inequality and public services.